Money for College: It Starts with FAFSA - Free Workshops in the Capital Region

ALBANY, NY (01/30/2012)(readMedia)-- Local college-bound students and families are getting help completing their application for financial aid.

Through its "Start Here to Get There" campaign, taking place now through February 25, the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) is working with financial aid professionals and other volunteers across the State to inform and educate students and families about all of the financial aid opportunities available to help them pay for college and promote the completion of the most important tool in securing financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Together with College Goal Sunday New York, the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA) and other partners, HESC is co-hosting workshops in the Capital Region to help students and families complete the FAFSA.

Information from federal tax forms is required to apply for financial aid. Workshops at Albany High School are sponsored by College Goal Sunday New York and will offer tax preparation assistance provided by certified professionals working through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. VITA will assist families earning less than $49,000 to prepare and file their taxes prior to completing the FAFSA. Tax preparation assistance is also available Saturdays at the Albany Public Library.

New Yorkers who are unable to attend an event can also get specific questions answered each Tuesday and Thursday from Noon to 5 pm by calling HESC's FAFSA Hotline at 1-800-808-1790 or emailing anytime to FAFSAHelp@hesc.org.

FAFSA and financial aid information events in the Capital Region:

2/02/2012

4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

FAFSA Filing College Goal Sunday

Albany High School

700 Washington Ave.

Albany, NY 12203

Registration required please contact Joseph Fesel at jfesel@albany.k12.ny.us or call 518-475-6260.

For additional information, visit New York's College Goal Sunday web site.

2/09/2012

4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

FAFSA Filing Event

Albany High School

700 Washington Ave.

Albany, NY 12203

Registration required please contact Joseph Fesel at jfesel@albany.k12.ny.us or call 518-475-6260.

2/13/2012

5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

FAFSA Filing Event

Albany Public Library

161 Washington Ave.

Albany, NY 12225

Registration required for FAFSA completion support. Register online for the February 13 event at www.StartHereGetThere.org.

For additional information contact Meg Maurer at maurem@albany publiclibrary.org or call 518-427-4328

2/15/2012

6:00 p.m.

College Financial Aid and FAFSA Filing Workshop

Hudson Valley Community College

Bulmer Telecommunications Center,

Meeting Room 1

80 Vandenburgh Ave.

Troy, NY 12180

For information: call the Mastrangelo Financial Aid Center 518-629-7150

Also webcast live at: www.hvcc.edu/finaid/workshops.

2/15/2012

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Financial Aid Presentation

SEFCU Headquarters

700 Patroon Creek Blvd.

Albany, NY 12206

Reservations are required and can be made by calling 518-464-5321 or 866-733-2880 x5321, or online at www.sefcu.com.

2/16/2012

4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

FAFSA Filing Event

Albany High School

700 Washington Ave.

Albany, NY 12203

Registration required please contact Joseph Fesel at jfesel@albany.k12.ny.us or call 518-475-6260.

2/27/2012

5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

FAFSA Filing Event

Albany Public Library

161 Washington Ave.

Albany, NY 12225

Registration required for FAFSA completion support. Register online for the February 27 event at www.StartHereGetThere.org.

For additional information contact Meg Maurer at maurem@albany publiclibrary.org or call 518-427-4328

3/15/2012

4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

FAFSA Filing Event

Albany High School

700 Washington Ave.

Albany, NY 12203

Registration required please contact Joseph Fesel at jfesel@albany.k12.ny.us or call 518-475-6260.

3/15/2012

6:00 p.m.

College Financial Aid and FAFSA Filing Workshop

Hudson Valley Community College

Bulmer Telecommunications Center, Meeting Room 1

80 Vandenburgh Ave.

Troy, NY 12180

For information: call the Mastrangelo Financial Aid Center 518-629-7150

Also webcast live at: www.hvcc.edu/finaid/workshops.

About HESC: HESC is New York State's student financial aid agency that helps people pay for college and a national leader in providing need-based grant and scholarship award money to college-going students. At HESC's core are programs like the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), numerous state scholarships, the New York Higher Education Loan Program (NYHELPs), federal college access grants and a highly successful College Savings program. HESC puts college within the reach of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers each year through programs like these and through the guidance it provides to students, families and counselors. In 2010-11, HESC helped more than 413,000 students achieve their college dreams by providing $991 million in grants, scholarships and federal student loan guarantees, including $855 million awarded through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).

The College Goal Sunday program was created by the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association with funding from Lilly Endowment, Inc., and with supplemental support from the Lumina Foundation for Education.

New York's College Goal Sunday is a service project of the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA) and the New York State Higher Education Services Corp., the State's student financial aid agency. It is funded through a generous grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education and supported by funds from the federal College Access Challenge Grant.

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Editors: For more information, contact Kathy Crowder, HESCs Sr. Vice President for Communications at 518-402-1448; kcrowder@hesc.org.