Posted: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 12:11 pm

The Messenger 02.04.09

The 3rd Annual College Goal Sunday will be hosted by Dyersburg State Community College Feb. 22 at the DSCC Student Center from 2-4 p.m.
High school seniors, their parents and anyone seeking financial student aid for college are invited to attend the free event.
Assistance in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be provided by financial aid professionals. A presentation will be given on financial aid and paying for college. Dyersburg State will be one of 35 sites for the statewide College Goal Sunday and is the only location in northwest Tennessee.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to receive help in completing their FAFSA for the 2009-10 school year so that they can maximize the amount of financial aid that they can receive,” said Sandra Rocket, DSCC financial aid director and College Goal Sunday event coordinator.
College Goal Sunday offers students and parents completing the (FAFSA) expert help from hundreds of professionals in the financial aid, admissions, secondary and higher education communities. Volunteers will provide a presentation outlining the FAFSA line by line, one-on-one information and question/answer sessions to benefit students and parents in different stages of the financial aid process.
Research shows that families often list high cost as the main barrier to college attendance, even though tens of millions of dollars in various forms of financial aid is available every year. The FAFSA form, used at colleges, universities and technical schools nationwide, should be submitted before March 1 to get the maximum aid available, even if the student has not selected a college.
Along with serving as the application for federal aid, the FAFSA form is also the application for the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship and the Tennessee Student Assistance Award programs, making it important to the financial aid process in the state.
For complete information on College Goal Sunday Tennessee and the participating sites, visit www.CollegeGoalSundayTN.org. Students are encouraged to review the information on the Web site prior to arriving to make sure they have all the necessary documentation, including each individual’s 2008 federal tax information in order to fill out their FAFSA forms completely.
For more information about the DSCC event, call the financial aid office at (731) 286-3235.