The University of North Georgia (UNG) will hold a free event today on its Gainesville campus to help college-bound students and their parents fill out Free Application for Federal Student Aid.(FAFSA) forms.
Financial aid experts will be available from 4:00-7:00 to help families complete and submit the forms at the event, which will be held on in the ACTT Center in the J. Foster Watkins Academic Building. Completing the FAFSA is the first step in applying for federal and state grants, loans, and scholarships to help pay for college. The federal government requires a FAFSA from all students seeking financial aid to attend and pay for college.
"We encourage all students who are considering higher education to apply for FAFSA," said Sheila Caldwell, director for UNG's Complete College Georgia initiative. "Ensuring financial stability is a crucial part of successfully completing college, and we want our students to be effective and efficient with their financial resources so they can focus on education and learning to lead."
College Goal Georgia, part of the national College Goal Sunday initiative, is sponsored by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). It is a free event where volunteers help students and families who need assistance in completing the financial aid forms, with a particular focus on helping low-income families and families with first-generation college students.
"GSFC and College Goal Georgia want to ensure finances and completing the FAFSA are not barriers to attending college for anyone, especially students from under-represented communities," said Angie Newell, College Goal Georgia's statewide coordinator.
GSFC helps students achieve their educational goals by administering financial aid programs and advocating for Georgia students and other state institutions on issues related to financing higher education. GSFC administers the HOPE Scholarship and Grant programs as well as other state-and lottery-funded scholarship, grant and service-cancelable loan programs.
To see a complete list of the documents that students and families should bring to the event, please visit http://collegegoalga.com/about/what-to-bring.
