Fewer than half of Bartholomew County high school seniors have submitted financial aid applications just days before the deadline to qualify for state financial aid.
As of April 5, only 43 percent of high school seniors in Bartholomew County have submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, according to Learn More Indiana, a partnership of state and local organizations led by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
The deadline to file the FAFSA to be considered for the Frank O’Bannon Grant and the 21st Century Scholarship is midnight on Monday.
Learn More Indiana reported that 172 of 377 seniors at Columbus East High School had submitted a FAFSA as of April 5. At Columbus North High School, 205 of 490 high school seniors had filed, as well as 24 of 69 seniors at Hauser Jr-Sr High School.
Filing a FAFSA is a crucial step for students and parents who are looking to pay for college. The FAFSA form is required to apply for any federal student aid, including federal loans, grants and work-study awards. Additionally, many states, colleges and private scholarships require FAFSAs to determine eligibility for financial aid for college.
Applicants who are dependents will need their parents’ 2017 federal income tax returns, W-2s, other records of income, among other documentation, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
In fiscal year 2018, the state of Indiana issued $384.4 million in awards to 72,164 students, including $178,663 for the Frank O’Bannon Grant and $163.4 million for 21st Century Scholars, according to the Indiana Higher Education Commission. During the same time frame, 557 IUPUC students received approximately $3.1 million in state financial aid.
In fiscal year 2018, the U.S. Department of Education doled out more than $122.4 billion in federal grants, loans and work-study funds to around 12.7 million higher-education students at nearly 6,000 schools, according to the department’s 2018 annual report.
As the state deadline approaches, local high school officials have been stepping up efforts to encourage students to get their applications in on time.
“We’re making a last-minute push to get them in,” said Pat Pemberton, guidance counselor at Columbus North High School. “We’ve been making our announcements to students and calling them down and urging them to get their FAFSA done.”
On Tuesday, Columbus East High School conducted individual help sessions in the high school’s library for parents and students who are filling out their applications, according to Kristin Schuetz, guidance counselor at Columbus East High School.
Schuetz said the school has sent out announcements, newsletters, personal letters and reminders to students via a text messaging app in the run-up to Monday’s deadline.
“We really push (filing the FAFSA) throughout the year,” Shuetz said. “We’ll continue to announce it.”
Hauser Jr-Sr High School, for its part, has opened its doors for students and parents to need help filling out the FAFSA.
“We have been doing follow-ups throughout the year,” said Kelli Hoeflinger, school counselor at Hauser Jr-Sr High School. “This week, we sent another (communication) blast out to all the parents and students to remind them of the deadline. People can come in and use the school’s facility to complete their FAFSA if they need to.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About the FASFA” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, is a crucial step for students and parents who are looking to pay for college. The FAFSA is required to apply for any federal student aid, including federal loans, grants and work-study awards. Additionally, many states, colleges and private scholarships require FAFSAs to determine eligibility for aid.
Applicants who are dependents will need their parents’ 2017 federal income tax returns, W-2s, other records of income, among other documentation, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Visit studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa for more information.
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