Web

University of Florida students now have free Internet access to a database that matches them with privately funded scholarships.

By selecting the scholarship search service on UF's financial aid home page -- http://www.ufsa.ufl.edu/SFA/SFA.html -- students can access the database, called Financial Aid Search Through the WEB.

After entering personal data into fastWEB, students wait about five to 15 minutes for a list of scholarships that match their specific qualifications and needs.

The service creates a mailbox for each student with about 180,000 scholarships, fellowships, grants and loans available based on eligibility. It will even create a form letter that can be mailed to the sponsor, requesting applications for the funding.

"We think it is a wonderful opportunity for the students, because with the cutting of state and federal funds for student loans and because there is an escalating rise in tuition expenses, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for students to afford their education," said Marla Baskin, director of college relations for Student Services, Inc., the company that provides students access to fastWEB.

UF signed a one-year contract last week with the Chicago- based scholarship search company.

Student Financial Affairs is not associated with the service, but offers it to students through its home page.

"It does assist students in finding sources they would not know about," director Karen Fooks said.But Fooks cautioned that students have the responsibility to follow through with the information they receive from the service.

"We are merely putting it out there for students who want to use it. It is not a UF service and has no guarantee," Fooks said.

[ back to Golden Gater Online September 7, 1995 ]

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