Super Goal Sunday will help the college-bound with the financial-aid maze.
So you want to go to college but you don’t think you can afford it.
You’ve been trying to fill out financial-aid forms but some questions have you stumped.
You’re going to complete the financial-aid application, but you haven’t done your taxes yet.
Sunday is for you.
From 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at 12 sites around the state, financial aid experts will help high school seniors, parents and college-bound adults fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, of FAFSA, an essential form that tells states and colleges throughout the country how much entering students can afford to pay.
The Finance Authority of Maine and its co-sponsors are promoting the event as Super Goal Sunday. At least eight other states will hold similar events the same day.
“This form is the key to being able to go to college or any kind of education beyond high school,” said Marcia Weston, education outreach manager for FAME. “Few of us can afford to go on to a program without some sort of financial aid.”
Although about 85 percent of Maine students graduate from high school, only about half go to college. A 2002 study by the Maine Center for Economic Policy found that less than 25 percent of Mainers had a four-year degree.
Experts believe many Maine high school graduates and their families are daunted by high college tuition prices. Students don’t think they can afford college or that they won’t qualify for financial aid, so they don’t even go through the process.
The FAFSA is required for students who want any financial help from private or public schools, the federal government or state agencies.
Weston said some start the intricate FAFSA form but get frustrated by complicated questions and instructions.
Others wait until they have their taxes all done and then start the form. But by then the deadline for aid has passed.
FAME is hoping College Goal Sunday will help
With lively television ads, a colorful Web site and hundreds of fliers posted at high schools and businesses, FAME is touting the event as a two-hour coaching session for all college-bound students who need money for school.
One hundred experts will be available at 12 sites, including the Lewiston Multi-Purpose Center and the University of Maine at Farmington, to help students and their families fill out the form line by line. At the end of the session, students will have a complete paper or electronic financial aid form that they can send in immediately.
Participants should arrive at a site at 2 p.m., bringing a completed 2003 tax return if available. If not, the FAFSA allows students to estimate income and asset information. Participants can use a W2 tax form, the last pay stub received in 2003 or a 2002 tax return.
If a site has to be closed because of snow, experts will staff FAME’s switchboard to help students one on one. The switchboard will also be open from 2 to 4 p.m. regardless of snow to field questions about site locations. The switchboard number is 1-800-228-3734.
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