College Goal Sunday FAFSA Completion Events Held Statewide

Find local workshops at www.collegezone.com/calendar

CHICAGO— Worried about paying for college? Join experts from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and other organizations on College Goal Sunday™, February 21, for help in navigating the college financial aid process. Learn about the many scholarships, grants and loans available to Illinois families by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and receive help at one of the many FAFSA completion workshops held throughout the state.

The College Goal Sunday (CGS) program was created by the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association with funding from Lily Endowment, Inc. and with supplemental support from Lumina Foundation for Education.  College Goal Sunday—typically held a week or two after Super Bowl Sunday—is the highlight of Financial Aid Awareness Month in Illinois and has grown into a nationwide volunteer program, active in many states as a result of the work of the YMCA and Lumina Foundation.

“Since 2004, College Goal Sunday has served to generate awareness of the financial aid and admissions process for all Illinois residents, specifically targeting underserved populations and first generation college students,” according to Janet Ingargiola, Director of Student Financial Aid at Danville Area Community College and the state’s College Goal Sunday coordinator. “The focus of CGS events is FAFSA completion, as the FAFSA unlocks the door to federal and state financial aid programs.”

Parents and students participating in a FAFSA completion event should bring their latest tax information and/or last pay stub from the previous year in order to complete the form. All information reviewed by the College Goal Sunday volunteers will be kept private and confidential and will not be used for any purpose other than helping the students and families apply for financial aid.

For a listing of College Goal Sunday events, visit www.collegezone.com/calendar. Information about the FAFSA, federal financial aid, and an online application can be found at http://www.fafsa.gov/. Find more information about College Goal Sunday at the national Web site, http://www.collegegoalsundayusa.org/.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission provides students of all ages and backgrounds with the resources and support to obtain financial aid for higher education. A state agency, ISAC has paved the path to post-secondary education with innovative programs for over 50 years. Last year alone, ISAC continued its mission to make college accessible and affordable for Illinois students by issuing 186,000 grants and scholarships totaling nearly
$431 million. 

The Commission provides educational funding with student loans and via numerous programs such as the Monetary Award Program  (MAP), the Illinois Veteran Grant  and College Illinois!® 529 Prepaid Tuition Program. Students and families have free access to a wealth of financial aid and college planning information at ISAC’s family of websites available at http://www.knowhow2goillinois.org/.