After two years at the University, April Penney has found filling out financial aid forms harder than some of her classes.

"I thought to myself that if college is this hard, I better get out," said Penney (sophomore-English). "I went through all the trouble of filling the forms out, and I didn't even get a dime."

The Office of Student Aid, 314 Shields, is working to make the process clearer by publishing a pamphlet on how to apply and a booklet on understanding award notification.

Anna Griswold, vice president of student financial aid, was unavailable for comment.

But Penney said students should still fill out the forms because it is hard to determine a student's eligibility.

"They do give out a great deal of money and someone has to get it," Penney added.

John Ebersole, spokesman for Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, said he doesn't recall ever getting calls complaining about the forms, although he admitted the forms are longer than he would like.

The PHEAA application has 13 sections and the information booklet is 24 pages.

Jeremy Pietron (junior-chemistry) said he receives financial loans but has never had to fill out any forms to get them.

"Actually, I always give the forms to my parents. I've never really looked at them but my parents say they are a pain," Pietron said. "I give it to them because they have most of the financial information."

Pennsylvania residents applying for aid must fill out the Application for Pennsylvania State Grant and Federal Student Aid, while out-of-state and graduate student applicants must submit the Financial Aid Form. These forms are available in the Office for Student Aid.

All students who want to apply for student aid for the Fall Semester must have completed application forms that were due to the Office of Student Aid Feb. 15. Students who missed that deadline can still apply for Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, which are available throughout the academic year.