If tuition payments are slowly dwindling your bank account and you’re wondering how to prevent yourself from going into debt, there are solutions to your financial headache.

Today the 2004 Financial Aid and Scholarship Fair will provide solutions for students in need of financial assistance. The fair will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in 202B Lenhart Grand Ballroom in the Union.

“This is definitely a retention effort to show how financial aid can support current BGSU students,” Dean Kendrick, assistant director of scholarships at the Office of Student Financial Aid said.

Craig Cornell, director at the Office of Student Financial Aid, said the 2004 Financial Aid and Scholarship Fair was created to inform students about the availability of scholarship funds, promote the new online scholarship guide and let students meet people who create these scholarships.

At the fair, students can learn about over 700 scholarships available to University students and attend one or more of the fair’s four financial aid sessions. Each session will run once in the morning and again in the afternoon. Session topics are federal student aid, FAFSA a debt management, the Installment Payment Plan, IPP and careers that can impact your financial aid.

University faculty and other financial aid experts will conduct these sessions. Tina Coulter, assistant director of scholarships and client services at the Office of Student Financial Aid, will inform students about financial aid. Katie Bontrager of USA Funds [a nonprofit corporation that provides financial services to education institutions, private lenders, students and parents] will lead the debt management session. Ginny Pinkelman, account clerk at the Bursar’s Office will teach the IPP session and Celeste Robertson, assistant director at the Career Center will teach the career session.

“There will be door prizes and food. We’ll be giving away coupons to local restaurants, t-shirts and monopoly games. The fair has a monopoly theme,” Cornell said.

Kendrick said the Office of Student Financial Aid hopes this event can be more successful next year. This is the first year for the fair.

For more information about the 2004 Financial Aid and Scholarship Fair, call the Office of Student Financial Aid at 419-372-2651.