What to know about FAFSA night

FAFSA night is a great opportunity for students to get scholarship money.

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Ella Wertz, News Editor

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) night is at 6 pm on Oct. 10 in the media center. FAFSA Night is an opportunity for seniors to fill out various forms to see what scholarships they are eligible for.

The FASFA is an application that seniors have to fill out to figure out their need and possibilities for financial aid. These applications can be submitted and more information can be found at www.fafsa.gov.

“So the night is about [how to] fill the thing out. That’s the most important part and basically we have college administrators that will be able to help facilitate it,” Michelle Blalock, a CUBE volunteer for Robinson, said. “We have pizza. We have prizes. We just need students and their parents to come with their computers or use the computers in the media center to fill the form out.”

FAFSA Night is directed towards the Class of 2020 and other students should not attend until their graduation year.

“The main thing that I want students to know is that there is 150 billion dollars on the line, so if you are looking for any type of money for college, FAFSA is your first step to get some of that money,” Blalock said. “It can come in the form of grants, loans, and a lot of schools even if you don’t have financial needs you still need to fill out the FAFSA even to get some of the scholarships that colleges offer.”

To participate in FAFSA Night, students must come prepared with their social security number or their alien registration number (if you are not a US citizen), driver’s license number and their federal income tax returns. The students’ parents must also attend the FASFA night and bring the same documents.

The CUBE volunteers said to make sure to come with your FAFSA ID created. The CUBE created posters around the school with QR codes that link to the website to create your FAFSA ID.

“If they can have that done early then it will make the process a whole lot easier, smoother, and faster when they get here,” Blalock said.

The FASFA form doesn’t mean that scholarships, grants, or loans are automatically found for you. However, a completed FAFSA is needed for most scholarship applications.

“Students still have to do their due diligence in finding the [scholarship] money but once you find that information and that money you will need the FAFSA in order to get whatever it is you find,” Blalock said.

 

If You Go:

When: Oct. 10 at 6 p.m.

Where: Robinson High School Media Center

Who should attend: Seniors and their parents