COLUMN: Financial workshop offers money-saving opportunities

The fall semester is a busy season for our seniors as they are gathering letters of recommendation, attending college fairs, and taking advantage of application workshops. Clovis High School will host the first FAFSA workshop from 6 p.m to 8 p.m., Oct. 15. This event will start in the cafeteria where they will provide a quick introduction and then move into the library for families ready to begin the application process.

Every year starting on Oct. 1 this is the beginning for not only the CSU application window but also the start date for when students and their parents may begin filling out the FAFSA. To begin the process there will be a workshop hosted tonight which will be mentioned later on in the article.

For families that are being introduced to this step for the first time, FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This five letter acronym is incredibly important to be familiar with when it comes to being eligible for grants or loans. FAFSA is a free application so if students are ever asked to submit a payment then you can be assured that it is a fake website. Students can start the process by visiting the official link.

Even though college application deadlines are around the corner, many students find relief in the fact that the FAFSA deadline is not until March 2. However, students are strongly encouraged to start as soon as possible and to not wait until the deadline just in case there are any questions that arise. Starting this process sooner will allow for more time for those questions to be answered.

Attending FAFSA workshops are beneficial not only for the student, but for their parents as well. Families are encouraged to attend these informational meetings to receive insightful information and assistance through every step of the application. There are variety of different workshops hosted at different school sites so if you can’t make one workshop there will be another opportunity to attend another.

For those attending these events, be sure to bring social security numbers for both students and parents, 2017 income information, and any savings and assets information. Seniors are more than welcome to search for other upcoming workshops in their area by visiting this link.

Seniors should be aware of the importance of filling out the FAFSA and to further express how significant FAFSA is to your college process, admission counselor, Luke Irving, from Azusa Pacific University shared his thoughts.

“The FAFSA is vital to the college application process because universities cannot process your Financial Aid until it is finished,” Irving said. “I did not think I could afford to go to college, let alone a private university, but the FAFSA gave me access to free money that helped me go to school. The only reason to not do it is if you hate free money, and if that is the case, please Venmo me some money immediately.”

The FAFSA is a great opportunity for students to find a means of paying for their college tuition and expenses. There is a multitude of events and sources of information available to help seniors and their families successfully complete the application, so take advantage of these opportunities!

Any further questions or inquiries can be directed to academic counselor, Evangelina Tello, at [email protected].

New campus academic advisor Evangelina Tello continues the occasional column, College Corner, for The Feather Online. She shares college prep advice and offers college counseling in her office. Tello can be reached via email: [email protected]. Her office hours are M/T/Th 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Wed/Fri., 8 -noon. She encourages students to set up appointments during these hours but has an open door policy as well.

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