Columbia College Free Financial Aid Workshop

The Columbia College Financial Aid Office invites the community to a free financial aid workshop on Saturday, March 1, 2014 between 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the Buckeye Building on the Columbia College campus.  No appointment necessary.  Financial Aid professionals will be available to answer questions and provide one-on-one assistance to complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application online.  Undocumented students are welcome and will receive assistance completing the Dream Act Application. Both applications have a deadline of March 2, 2014.

To complete the application online, current and prospective students will need to bring the following:

  • Social Security Card or Alien Registration Card, if you have one
  • Driver’s License, if you have one
  • 2013 federal income tax forms or any 2013 income data collected for student and parent(s)/guardian(s) (i.e. W2 forms or year-end pay stubs, if you have not yet filed a 2013 tax return)
  • Any records of untaxed income such as welfare benefits, social security benefits, or child support payments
  • List of colleges you are interested in attending

Students are considered “independent” for purposes of the FAFSA if they answer yes to all of the following questions.  If the student is not independent, they must have a parent present at the workshop to be able to submit the FAFSA.

  • Were you born before January 1, 1991?
  • As of today, are you married?
  • Are you currently serving on active duty in the US Armed Forces for purposes other than training?
  • Are you a veteran of the US Armed Forces?
  • Do you have children or other dependents who receive more than half of their support from you?
  • At any time since you turned age 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a dependent of or ward of the court?
  • Are you a documented unaccompanied homeless youth.

For more information on Financial Aid or this workshop please call the Columbia College Financial Aid Office at (209) 588-5105 or (209) 588-5272.