College Goal Sunday, the nationwide initiative to provide free, professional help with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), is currently registering sites to support the ambitious goal of serving students in all 67 Florida counties in 2015. Now known in-state as CGS!Florida, the event provides a time and a place at high schools, postsecondary institutions and other community centers where students can complete the FAFSA on-site and receive other helpful information about the college financial aid process.
This year, most statewide events will take place over the February 21-22, 2015 weekend. “By getting help with filling out the FAFSA, students and their families can gain access to a wide range of federal and state aid programs that can help make a postsecondary education in Florida more affordable,” said Lori Auxier, Director of Outreach Services for the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Student Financial Assistance (OFSA). “By opening registration earlier this year, we hope to encourage high schools, colleges, after-school centers, libraries and other organizations to host a CGS!Florida event.”
In 2014, the first year that OSFA coordinated CGS!Florida, the program grew from 28 to 44 host sites and tripled the number of students and families it served to 1,141—up from 354 the previous year.For the 2014-2015 academic year, applications to host a CGS!Florida site will be accepted through September 30. Sites will be chosen and notified no later than October 31.
In 2014, the first year that OSFA coordinated CGS!Florida, the program grew from 28 to 44 host sites and tripled the number of students and families it served to 1,141—up from 354 the previous year.For the 2014-2015 academic year, applications to host a CGS!Florida site will be accepted through September 30. Sites will be chosen and notified no later than October 31.
To become a CGS!Florida host site, groups must have weekend access to a site such as a postsecondary institution, library, high school, community center or any other facility that is easily accessible to the public. Site directors need to assemble a group of team members and have them attend line-by-line FAFSA training Provided by CGS!Florida’s State Coordinators.Though largely geared toward high school seniors planning to attend college in the fall, CGS!Florida events are open to all residents, regardless of age, who need help completing their FAFSA.
To find out more about hosting a site or to submit an application, please click here.To compare FAFSA completion rates by high school and county, visit the Florida FAFSA Finish Line, an online data tool by the Florida College Access Network that allows schools, researchers and other education stakeholders to monitor the number of 12th graders at more than 700 Florida public schools.