As high school seniors start to apply for scholarships and financial aid for college, their parents will have to tackle the Free Application For Federal Student Aid.
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Supported by the non-profit FAFSA Days program, each of the workshops has trained financial aid professionals who will help families take the first step in preparing students to attend college.
The deadline to file the FAFSA is June 30.
On Tuesday from 5 p.m.to 8 p.m. the workers at the event will help students fill out their FAFSA or Dream Act Application for 2016-2017 and also provide help for the previous year’s applications.
Documents such as a drivers license, Social Security card, 2015 tax income information, and bank statements should be brought for the workshop.
Volunteers will walk through the online form line-by-line and answer families’ individual questions as needed. By doing so, families will not necessarily delay the receipt of financial aid because the student’s application is already in the system. “The FAFSA is a federal standard form and this is the information that is required”.
The form for the 2017-18 school year can be filed as early as October 1 and families may use the same data they reported on their 2015 tax returns.
Another pending change concerns asset protection.
A third change pertains to a college’s ability to view the names of schools on a student’s mailing list (a student, when filing the Fafsa, can choose up 10 colleges that will receive their financial details). Statistics show students who complete and submit the forms are more likely to go on to college.
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The Cowen Institute released two reports analyzing New Orleans high school student test scores and completion rates for federal financial aid for college, two indicators that are critical to the long-term success of city students.
