SACO — As local students look ahead to the start of the fall semester, those planning to move away to college may be reconsidering choices.

According to Dan Philbrick, Director of the University of Maine at Augusta’s Saco Center, this is the time of year when he starts hearing from students that they may be deciding not to attend the college they had planned on.

“Tuition bills start coming in and there are many decisions to make. They begin to realize that maybe they have not made a good choice, and so they start exploring local options,” said Philbrick. Economic decisions and emotional decisions become real in August, and Philbrick adds that her staff is happy to help folks find the right path.

The UMA Saco Center offers full UMA degree programs in popular subjects such as teacher education (birth to 5, K to 3, K to 8, 9 to 12 and special education), computer information systems, mental health and human services, business administration, criminal justice studies, liberal studies, nursing, medical laboratory technology and more.

Philbrick said that UMA Saco has scholarships for first-time college students, returning students and other forms of financial aid through the normal FAFSA process.

“We work to find the financial resources to help students get going whether they are first-time college students or returning after stopping out,” he said.

Philbrick said that funds are still available through the Osher Scholarship, and the Adult Degree Completion Scholarship.

The quality of academic programming, classroom instruction and student support at UMA Saco is competitive anywhere, he said.

Interested students exploring options are encouraged to call the UMA Saco Center at 282-4111 to schedule a free academic advising appointment.

More information is also available at uma.edu/saco.

The fall term starts Sept. 4.