By Dori Phillips
The annual FAFSA Workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, October 4th, at 6:00 p.m. in the High School Library.
If you are in need of financial aid to help pay for postsecondary education, the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the place to start. You can use it to apply for federal student aid such as grants, loans and work study. Most states and schools use information from the FAFSA to award non-federal aid and to determine eligibility for need-based scholarships. Even if you don’t think you will qualify for aid, you should still complete the FAFSA so you don’t miss out on opportunities.
In Montana, most postsecondary schools want to receive the information from your FAFSA by December 1. This is the FAFSA priority date. Be sure to check with your school to confirm this date. For some of the funds, awards are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The first step to complete the FAFSA is to get your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. I will help you create one. You may need to start gathering documents to help with the rest of the process:
● Social Security Numbers and Birthdates
● 2021 Federal Tax Returns
● W-2’s
● Additional asset information (savings and checking account balances, stocks, and other investments, etc)
● 2021 untaxed information (child support, health savings plans, etc)
I strongly encourage both parents and students to attend this workshop as the FAFSA form has sections that must be completed by each. All 12th grade students and their parents should attend this workshop, whether or not the soon-to-be graduate is planning on pursuing post-secondary education. Homeschool families are also welcome.
If you have students already in college and need a refresher to update your FAFSA again this year, please join us. You will need to bring your FAFSA ID from last fall and any of the documents listed above that may help you in completing the required information
If you have any questions, please contact Dori Phillips, High School Counselor, at 436-2658.
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