INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO): Thousands of students miss out on the chance to go to college every year because they don’t file for financial aid in time, so this year there’s a big push to get them to meet the March 10 deadline for FAFSA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Kaylee Showers, spokeswoman with the Commission for Higher Education, says Indiana has one of the most generous need-based financial aid systems in the country, but you have to fill out the application in order to get any money.
“You should file it no matter when you’re planning on going,” says Showers. “If you’re a senior and you’re thinking you’re going in the summer you should definitely file your FAFSA. You have to have it on file basically to receive any aid, so the sooner the better.”
The state is partnering with 115 school districts to try to increase the number of students filing for financial aid. Last year a similar effort brought the numbers up by five percent.
Workshops to help people fill out the FAFSA forms will held at 42 locations around the state on what’s called College Goal Sunday on Feb. 21.
