TIFTON — Financial aid is still available for students who have yet to apply for the fall term at Abraham Baldwin College, but they must act quickly. The deadline to apply for financial aid is July 15, and the fall semester begins Aug. 21.

Those who get their information in by mid-July will have a better chance at receiving financial aid without having to be reimbursed. After mid-July, most students will have to pay for their classes initially and be reimbursed at a later date.

“It’s not too late to apply for financial aid for the fall term,” Jenelle Handcox, director of financial aid, said. “But there are no guarantees that students who submit their application after the deadline will receive the aid on time. Students may have to pay up front and be reimbursed later.”

All types of financial aid are currently available. Grants include the PELL Grant, HOPE Grant, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and the Georgia Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program Grant (LEAP).

Loans available for the fall term include the Service-Cancelable Stafford Loan, the Federal Perkins Loan, the Federal Parent Loan, and the Federal Family Education Loans Program (FFEL). The FFEL is the only loan that can be either subsidized or unsubsidized.

A subsidized loan is awarded on the basis of financial need and carries no interest charges while the student is enrolled in school at least half time or during authorized periods of deferment. Unsubsidized loans are not awarded on the basis of financial need so a student will be charged interest on the loan from the time it is disbursed until the time it is paid in full.

Two types of scholarships are available for the upcoming academic year. These are the HOPE Scholarship and the ABAC Institutional Scholarships.

For those students interested in work study on campus, a Federal Work Study Program is also a part of financial aid. A total of $11.4 million was awarded in financial aid by ABAC last year.

“Don’t let cost be a factor. There are financial aid programs to assist everyone in paying for college,” Handcox said.

Students taking 12 or more hours will pay a total of $1,053 in tuition and fees for the fall term at ABAC, one of the lowest tuition costs in the nation.

The processing of financial aid requests varies depending on the method by which a student applies. Students who apply via the Internet generally have a response of two weeks, while those who use the paper application have a response in four weeks. There is another two weeks involved for applications to be processed in the financial aid office.

For more information on applying for financial aid for fall term 2006, visit the Office of Financial Aid located on the second floor of the J. Lamar Branch Student Center, call the office at (229) 391-4910, or visit the Web site at www.abac.edu.