January 14, 2010
Thursday

Ketchikan, Alaska - Across Alaska students planning to attend college in the fall are gearing up for the 5th annual Alaska College Goal Sunday - January 31, 2010. On that day Alaska's students and their families will gather at 24 locations across the state seeking guidance as they apply for financial assistance.

"The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the first and most important step for financial aid. It is the only way for students to access federal and most state support in the form of grants and low interest loans. In addition, it is also a requirement for many scholarships and private financial aid resources. However completing the form correctly with detailed income, tax, and other information can be a daunting task. To surmount the financial barriers to higher education many must first overcome the paperwork." ---Gionna Thornton, Site Coordinator, Prince William Sound Community College, Valdez

Annually scheduled in proximity to Super Bowl Sunday - and to income tax season - College Goal Sunday provides expert guidance in completing a key form that can be daunting-the FAFSA.

Alaska's College Goal SundaySM is part of a national program designed to help students clear the paperwork and financial hurdles to higher education and is of particularly critical for low-income and first-generation college goers. Financial aid professionals from Alaska's higher education institutions along with professionals from the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, ANCSA Education Consortium, University of Alaska, and the Association of Alaskan Student Financial Aid Administrators will join other volunteers in locations around the state.

Students can speed up their Alaska College Goal Sunday activities by going online to apply for a federal personal identification number (PIN) in advance at www.pin.ed.gov, and reviewing the required documents at www.alaskacollegegoalsunday.org.

2010 Alaska College Goal Sunday Statewide Sites:

Anchorage (Wendler Middle, West High, Polaris K-12), Barrow, Bethel, Cordova, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Fort Yukon, Galena, Glennallen, Homer, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Mat-Su Valley, Nome, Seward, Sitka, Soldotna, Unalakleet, Unalaska, Valdez.

Specific Ketchikan location: UAS Ketchikan campus, located at 2600 Seventh Avenue, Computer Lab in Paul Building, room #105.

Source of News:

University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan
www.ketch.alaska.edu/

 

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