Xap.com to Kick Off 1st Annual February Financial Aid Festival
Live Internet chat will feature advice from financial aid experts as well as parents and students familiar with the process.
Los Angeles, CA – February 6, 2001 – The countdown has begun for the millions of college-bound students who will apply for federal financial aid and scholarships this year.
Most financial aid deadlines hit in late February and early March. Xap.com (pronounced "zap"), a pioneer in electronic and web-based information management systems for college-bound students, today announced it will hold its 1st Annual February Financial Aid Festival, a live Internet Chat designed to facilitate the financial aid research and application processes for students and their parents.
The chat will take place on Thursday, February 15, from 6 p.m. to midnight EST.
In addition, the site will feature financial aid tips throughout February.
"Applying for financial aid can be very intimidating and uncertain," said Allen Firstenberg, President and CEO of Xap.com.
"Xap has been helping students and their families navigate this complicated process for many years.
The panel that we've assembled for the chat, along with the Financial Aid Wizard on Xap.com will help simplify the process for everyone."
The chat will feature a panel of financial aid experts as well as parents and students to lead discussions and answer queries about the ins and outs of applying for financial aid.
The financial aid experts who are scheduled to participate include Betsy Hicks, Director of Student Financial Services at MIT and Chris Collins, Assistant Director of Financial Aid at San Diego State University.
They will be joined by a parent and a student who have both successfully navigated through the process and can offer a layman's perspective.
To access the chat, students and their parents simply log on to www.xap.com and click on "live chat" on the homepage.
The chat is free, and the xap.com site is also free of commercial advertisements.
In addition to providing college planning and search, electronic admissions applications and career guidance, Xap.com also offers an extensive area devoted to financial aid.
Xap's financial aid section contains more than 100 pages of material about the ins and outs of financial aid, and through a series of calculators and interactive wizards, identifies only the material that is relevant to the user.
The section also offers a scholarship search consisting of 8,591 different scholarships resulting in over 1 million awards.
Students can apply for many financial aid opportunities using Xap.com, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA form.
One of the unique benefits of using Xap to complete applications is the "auto-fill" feature.
Students only fill in their personal information once and it is automatically inserted into the appropriate fields for each application.
The site also features the Xap Pack, a personalized portfolio for each student, which includes his or her estimated financial aid package.
About Xap
Headquartered in the Los Angeles area, Xap Corporation was formed in 1996, focusing on the creation of novel and comprehensive Internet-based information management systems for students.
Xap is the leading developer of online student services for associations of colleges and universities across the United States.
In September 2000, Xap launched its national student services site at www.xap.com to give students a free resource to use throughout the college planning, selection, application and financial aid processes.
