In an effort to help students and families overcome any barriers to receiving much needed college financial aid, the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority (RISLA) College Planning Center and The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) will host a statewide virtual forum on Thursday, January 28th at 4:00 p.m.

 RISLA and its College Planning Center is the largest resource in the state for college financial aid planning, assisting thousands of families every year.

Visit www.collegeplanningcenter.org to register for the free information session.

According to Stacy Crooks, Director of the College Planning Center, money for college starts with a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. “During this virtual event, experts will offer information and direct assistance to those who have not yet filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for the upcoming school year. Additionally, important information will be provided and helpful for those who just want information for an upcoming student headed to college in the near future.”

She continued, “According to an article on NerdWallet.com, the high school class of 2018 missed out on $2.6 billion in free money for college. The money went unclaimed because about 661,000 of the nation’s graduates who were eligible for a Pell Grant simply didn’t complete their federal financial aid application. The FAFSA, is crucial to unlocking financial aid for college, including federal loans and money from states and schools.”

 “With more families facing financial hardship, it is more important to get those FAFSA forms properly submitted as early as possible,” said US Senator Jack Reed. “Completing the form early puts students in line and offers families a more complete picture of their eligibility for federal, state, and school financial aid and their future college costs.  This free forum will help answer important questions to ensure folks have the information and tools they need to get their FAFSA forms in.”

The College Planning Center has helped thousands of families annually with free assistance in completing the FAFSA and wants to continue to reaching out to assist even more Rhode Islanders to raise the number of FAFSA completions for high school seniors this year and years to come The overall objective is to ensure that available aid does not go unused.  Rhode Island is currently ranked 9th in the country for FAFSA completion with a 36.4% completion to date as of January 1st.  (https://formyourfuture.org/fafsa-tracker/)