ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – With the fall semester approaching, many students are at risk of not receiving financial aid.
Problems with the new version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have prompted Total Action for Progress to step in. The project is being run in partnership with Goodwill, Project Discovery and United Way of Roanoke Valley.
“We don’t want this initial process to stop you from pursuing or achieving your dreams, so it’s important for us to have some sort of support network,” explains Lateefah Trent, Youth Services and Education Manager at TAP.
TAP offers free FAFSA clinics to provide assistance to students who are at risk of not receiving aid in the upcoming semester.
“We’ll bring you in and go through a checklist of everything you need for the entire process of completing the FAFSA application,” Trent said.
She says you need an ID and a social security number before you go to a clinic.
Trent says students who live with guardians instead of their parents often stumble upon this application.
“The difficulties in the process are made even more apparent by the fact that you don’t always have access to the parents’ information,” Trent explained.
TAP says this requires special circumstances in the FAFSA process that they can help with. The hope is that this will not only help students, but also take the pressure off universities.
“We can’t perform a miracle. But every child, every student that we have and get through the process is one less person that educational institutions actually have to help in this process,” Trent said.
There are several ways to take advantage of these free courses. An interpreter is also available for Spanish-speaking students.
August 21 and 28, 5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. (Roanoke Higher Education Center)
August 24, 11am-2pm (YouthHQ @ Goodwill)
August 29, 5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. (Franklin Center)
TAP is still looking for volunteers for each location.
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