Its January. Do you know where your FAFSA is?

West Virginia University financial aid counselors say students should make a New Years resolution to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA , and the earlier, the better.

To get the word out, the WVU Financial Aid Office has proclaimed Jan. 24-28 Financial Aid Awareness Week to encourage students to begin the application process.

During the week, WVU financial aid professionals will distribute FAFSAs, electronic worksheets, bookmarks and other information from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Mountainlair commons area. For students unfamiliar with the application, the staff will walk them through the process and answer any questions they may have.

Figuring out financial aid for college can often be an education in itself, said senior financial aid counselor Janet Trump, but students who take the time to complete the FAFSA correctly and on time may be able to get the government to help pay for school.

In fact, WVU students were awarded more than $160 million in aid for the 2003-04 academic year.

Trump said for every student who takes advantage of financial aid, however, there is another student who misses the deadline or simply fails to apply. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 51 percent of U.S. undergraduates (excluding foreign students and other non-citizens) did not apply for federal financial aid in 1999-2000.

The FAFSA for 2005-06 is available now and can be turned in as early as January, she noted. Any student wanting federal or state aidwhether in the form of grants, loans or work studyis required to fill out an application.

A grant is financial aid that does not need to be repaid, work-study allows students to work and earn money to pay for their expenses, and loans must be repaid with interest.

Trump added that it is never too early to start filling out the paperwork and collecting the needed records: 2004 federal tax forms, W-2 forms, investment records, bank statements and small business records. The FAFSA must be received by the federal processing center by March 1 or better yet Feb. 15, the priority deadline, to be considered for most forms of aid.

The 2005-06 FAFSA form may be filed electronically on the Web at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. Students re-applying for financial aid can complete an online renewal application, which contains most of the studentsprevious information. A new FAFSA should be filled out every school year.

Students who are unable to attend Financial Aid Awareness Week activities may pick up a paper FAFSA in theWVU Financial Aid Officeon the second floor of the Mountainlair Monday-Friday 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.

For more information, visithttp://www.finaid.wvu.edu, or contact a financial aid representative at 304-293-5242 or finaid@mail.wvu.edu .