Free financial aid webinar for high school seniors is Oct. 18

By Carrie Brown McWhorter
The Alabama Baptist

If you are a high school senior or the parent of one, you are probably thinking about what comes after graduation and how to pay for it. Cash for College is hosting a webinar tonight to help.

Last year, Alabama high school graduates received approximately $60.4 million in Pell Grants by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is the primary way both public and private colleges and universities determine a student’s eligibility for financial aid and put together an aid package to cover costs.

A financial aid package may consist of money from federal, state and local sources. Federal funds come in the form of grants, loans and work-study opportunities. The Pell Grant, for example, is the largest federal grant program available to undergraduate students. The Pell Grant can pay up to $6,195 per year for the 2019-2020 school year for students who demonstrate financial need. Pell Grants do not have to be repaid.

Pell Grants can be used to pay for a broad range of technical and academic programs after high school. They are just one way that college and career technical students pay for post-high school education and job training. But they can only be granted if a student completes the FAFSA, which is why Alabama Possible is sponsoring a free Facebook webinar on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. to help students and parents complete the FAFSA.

Jessica Latten of Alabama Possible says it is important that every senior in Alabama gets started on this application as soon as possible because more money is available to them the sooner they apply. Last year, officials estimate Alabama students left $45.3 million in college aid on the table, and Latten hopes that won’t happen again this year.

That’s why Alabama Possible’s Cash for College program is hosting a webinar Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. for high school seniors and their families. Financial aid experts from Alabama Possible and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Office of Financial Aid will assist students in several ways, including:

• how to file the FAFSA on fafsa.gov or the new mobile app, myStudentAid
• which papers and documents are needed to complete the FAFSA
• different types of financial aid that help pay for education after high school and what it can be used to pay for.

To be automatically notified of the webinar, “like” the Cash for College Alabama page on Facebook.  High school seniors and their families will also be able to view the video at the top of the Cash for College Alabama page at 7 p.m. on Oct. 18. The recorded video will also be uploaded to Alabama Possible’s YouTube channel.

10 Fast Facts about FAFSA

1. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
2. The FAFSA is the form required at all colleges — public and private — that accept and award federal aid.
3. The FAFSA provides your college financial aid officers with the information they need to create your financial aid package.
4. The FAFSA can be completed online at www.fafsa.ed.gov or using the FAFSA app available on iTunes and Google Play.
5. The majority of colleges also use the FAFSA to determine who qualifies for state and institutional need-based aid.
6. You can file your FAFSA as early as Oct. 1 of the year prior to your first year in college.
7. The 2019–2020 FAFSA requires 2017 tax data.
8. There is no income cutoff to qualify for federal student aid. You can submit the FAFSA to up to 10 schools you are considering.
9. Application and acceptance to the college is not required to put the school on your list.
10. FAFSA questions and concerns should be directed to the financial aid office of the school you attend or are planning to attend, not to the U.S. Department of Education.

For more information about the FAFSA, go to www.cashforcollegealabama.org.