Students to get free FAFSA filing help

Financial aid professionals throughout Indiana will be volunteering at 40 sites 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. 27.

The free program assists Indiana students in filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA form is required for students to be considered for federal and state grants, scholarships and federal 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.

One of many reasons College Goal Sunday is so important is because many families perceive the form to be too complicated and time consuming to complete.

“Last year, Indiana high school graduates missed out on $65 million in Pell Grants by not filing the FAFSA,” said Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers. “If you are considering education beyond high school, filing the FAFSA is the best way to ensure you are receiving available financial aid. College Goal Sunday offers one-on-one assistance from financial aid experts to students and families to ensure their FAFSA is accurately completed.”

Now in its 33rd year, College Goal Sunday has helped more than 94,000 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.

“The event on Feb. 27 will be the second of two College Goal Sunday events 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, file the FAFSA and get one step closer to fulfilling their educational goals.”

According to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, programs like College Goal Sunday are reaching first-generation college students. In recent years, according to CHE statistics, more single-parent Hoosier families have filed for financial aid, indicating programs like College Goal Sunday are reaching high-risk students and their families.

“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 Wozniak. “This is why the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association not only continues to provide College Goal Sunday, but offers two events during the year. If our assistance gives students a better chance at education beyond high school and less debt, we’re fulfilling our mission.”

Students should attend College Goal Sunday with their parent(s) or guardian(s), and parent(s) should bring completed 2020 IRS 1040 tax returns, W-2 Forms and other 2020 income and benefits information. Students who worked should also bring their income information. Students 24 years of age or older may attend alone and bring their completed 2020 IRS 1040 tax return, W-2 Form or other 2020 income and benefits information. Students and parent(s) are encouraged to apply for their U.S. Dept. of Education FSA IDs at studentaid.gov before logging in to the event.

Volunteers will walk through the online form line by line and answer families’ individual questions as needed. All sites offer FAFSA online capabilities and many have Spanish interpreters. A complete list of sites is available at CollegeGoalSunday.org.

Students who attend College Goal Sunday and submit a completed evaluation form will automatically be entered in a drawing for a $1,000 scholarship. The winners will be notified in the spring, and scholarships will be sent directly to the higher education institution selected by the winning students.

For more information about College Goal Sunday, visit CollegeGoalSunday.org.