Financial aid professionals will be volunteering at 40 sites in Indiana to help college-bound students and their families open the door to financial aid during College Goal Sunday. The event is set for 2 p.m. Feb. 25.
The free program assists Indiana students in filing the free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA form is required for students to be considered for federal and state grants, scholarships and student loans at most colleges, universities and vocational/technical schools nationwide. The FAFSA must be filed by April 15 to be eligible for Indiana financial aid.
College Goal Sunday is designed to help students and parents navigate financial aid paperwork since completing this required form correctly by the deadline is sometimes perceived to be complicated and time consuming. In less than one afternoon at a College Goal Sunday event, students and their families can get free help and file the form online.
“Students who don’t complete their financial aid paperwork properly and on time are often very disappointed when they find out how much financial aid they lost,” said Bill Wozniak, co-chair of College Goal Sunday. “If our assistance gives students a better chance at higher education and less debt, we’re fulfilling our mission.”
Now in its 29th year, College Goal Sunday has helped more than 93,000 Indiana students and families complete the FAFSA properly and on time. College Goal Sunday is a charitable program of the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (ISFAA).
“The event on Feb. 25 will be the second College Goal Sunday ISFAA is offering this FAFSA filing season.” said Bill Wozniak, co-chair of College Goal Sunday. “We hope all Hoosiers who have not filed already, take advantage of College Goal Sunday events across Indiana, file the FAFSA, and get one step closer to fulfilling their educational goals.”
Students should attend College Goal Sunday with their parent(s) or guardian(s), and parents should bring completed 2016 IRS 1040 tax returns, W-2 Forms and other 2016 income and benefits information.
Students who were employed last year should bring their income information as well. Students and parents are encouraged to apply for their U.S. Department of Education FSA IDs at fsaid.ed.gov before coming to the event.
Volunteers will walk through the online form line-by-line and answer families’ individual questions as needed. A complete list of sites is available at collegegoalsunday.org.
