News Release

GOSHEN — During College Goal Sunday, financial aid professionals will be volunteering to help college-bound Indiana students and their families complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form and open the door to financial aid. The free event will take place from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, in the Goshen College Union Building.

Now in its 34th year, College Goal Sunday is an event held at 37 sites across Indiana that provides free FAFSA filing assistance to Hoosier families.

A complete list of sites is available at CollegeGoalSunday.org.

What Students Should Bring:

Students should attend College Goal Sunday with their parent(s) or guardian(s), and parents should bring completed 2021 IRS 1040 tax returns, W-2 Forms and other 2021 income and benefits information. Students who worked last year should bring their income information as well. Students 24 years of age or older may attend alone and bring their own completed 2021 IRS 1040 tax return, W-2 Form or other 2021 income and benefits information.

Students and parents are encouraged to apply for their U.S. Department of Education FSA IDs before coming to the event. Volunteers will walk through the online form line-by-line and answer families’ individual questions as needed.

Click here for a checklist.

FAFSA Overview:

• Single application completed each year to apply for federal grants, work-study AND loans, state of Indiana grants and some institutional grants/scholarships.
• Snapshot of your family’s income and assets to calculate your Expected Family Contribution. The EFC is an index used by colleges to determine what federal, state, and possibly institutional money you are eligible to receive.
• Skip logic is built into the FAFSA, so you only answer the questions you need to and no more.
• The IRS Data Retrieval Tool lets you transfer tax information straight from the IRS to your FAFSA to improve the accuracy and security of data.
• You can list up to 10 colleges on the FAFSA. You are encouraged to list at least one college from Indiana so that you are in the pool for State of Indiana grants, if eligible.

Common FAFSA Questions:

• Am I dependent or independent?
• Who is my parent?
• What is an FSA ID, and why do I need it?
• How do I use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer tax info to the application?
• Tip sheet for service members and Veterans
• Tip sheet for adult learners
• Tip sheet for undocumented students
• Aid offer comparison worksheet and financial aid glossary

For more information about College Goal Sunday, visit CollegeGoalSunday.org.