Financial aid professionals from across Indiana will be at 34 sites helping college-bound students and their families with the most important form for financial aid during College Goal Sunday later this month.
The event is set for 2 p.m. Feb. 22 and the free program assists Indiana students with filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Locally, students can go to IU Columbus, 4601 Central Ave, Columbus. Students and families should enter Door 2 on the IU Columbus campus.
The FAFSA is required for students to be considered for federal and state grants, many scholarships, and even federal student loans at most colleges, universities and vocational/technical schools nationwide. Filing must occur by the state’s priority deadline of April 15 to guarantee state aid for those that qualify, according to a news release.
Many families perceive the form to be too complicated and time consuming to complete and often leads to students missing out on financial aid they would receive. This is one of many reasons College Goal Sunday is so important. In less than one afternoon during the event, students and their families get free help from the expert volunteers and file the form, the news release says.
Now in its 37th year, College Goal Sunday has helped more than 98,000 Indiana students and families complete the FAFSA properly and on time. College Goal Sunday is a charitable program of the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (ISFAA).
Students should attend College Goal Sunday with their parent(s) or guardian(s), and parent(s) should bring completed 2024 IRS 1040 tax returns, W-2 Forms and other 2024 income and benefits information. Students who worked should also bring their income information. Students 24 years of age or older may attend alone and bring their completed 2024 IRS 1040 tax return, W-2 Form or other 2024 income and benefits information. Students and parent(s) are encouraged to set up their U.S. Department of Education StudentAid.gov account at studentaid.gov before coming to the event, the news release says.
Volunteers will be available to assist with the online form and answer all families’ individual questions during College Goal Sunday. All sites offer FAFSA online capabilities and many have Spanish interpreters available. A complete list of sites is available at CollegeGoalSunday.org.
Students may also win one of five $1,000 scholarships. Students who attend College Goal Sunday and submit a completed evaluation form will automatically be entered in a drawing for a $1,000 scholarship. The winners will be notified and scholarships will be sent directly to the higher education institution selected by the winning students.
