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There are thousands of college scholarships out there, but the U.S. government is by far the largest provider of student financial aid. Known as FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), the program gives students access to $150 billion in grants, loans and work-study funds made available by the federal government. HISD is taking part in Houston FAFSA Day, a communitywide effort to help high school seniors and their families.

FAFSA Day at HISD is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015, when high schools across the district will have administrators, staff and volunteers on hand after school to assist students and their parents complete the application accurately and on time. Parents play an essential role in the completion of student applications, because their financial information is used to calculate the “Expected Family Contribution,” a key factor in the college assessment of the student’s financial need.

“Completing the FAFSA is an important step in ensuring college enrollment among our students,” said David Johnston, director of the HISD College Readiness Team. “In fact, seniors who complete the FAFSA are 90 percent more likely to attend college than those who don’t.”

If you are an undocumented student, you are still eligible to receive state aid, but in order to do so, you will need to fill out the TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid), which was created for students who do not have a Social Security number and are not eligible for federal student aid.

Parents and students should bring the following to complete the FAFSA/TASFA:

• FAFSA Pin (a numerical code that should be accessed from www.pin.ed.gov prior to filling out the application)


• 2014 or most recent federal tax return/ W-2


• Untaxed income records


• Alien registration card (if not a U.S. citizen)

Once you have completed the FAFSA or TASFA application, the colleges you have applied to AND received acceptance letters from will begin to put together a financial aid package for you.

For most colleges, the FAFSA priority deadline is March 15, 2015. Although you can apply after that, grant funding is limited and colleges cannot guarantee your financial aid award will be processed by the start the fall semester.

For questions, please contact your high school campus or the HISD College Readiness Dept. at 713-556-7196. Be sure to visit the HISD FAFSA website here .

from News Blog http://ift.tt/1K4y0RV