You may come anytime between 2:00pm and 4:00pm to get help.

Students who attend the event and complete the Student/Family Survey are entered for a chance to win a $1,000, scholarship, one of two $500 scholarships, one of ten $200 scholarships, or one of twenty-six $50 gift cards to Barnes & Noble. (See Prizes page for complete rules)

Students who participate in the email contest and attend the event will be eligible to win a brand new Dell Laptop computer. (See Prizes page for complete rules)

Students who participate in the text contest and attend the event will be eligible to win a brand new IPod Nano or one of three $100 gift cards to Target. (See Prizes page for complete rules)

Your parents should bring all the materials and they should be able to complete most of the FAFSA at College Goal Sunday. Then you can finish completing the form with your parents later.

You can still attend even if your 2007 income information is incomplete or you forget something. You may file your FAFSA after the event once you do have the materials. You don’t want to miss out on the valuable instruction provided at College Goal Sunday.

Not to worry! The process for obtaining a Personal Identification Number (PIN) has been improved. Students and Parents no longer have to wait days to get their email confirmation for PIN numbers, the process is much faster now. If you did not obtain your PIN number before College Goal Sunday, you may do so while completing the FAFSA form online on the day of the event. A volunteer will show you how.

Come anyway and complete the FAFSA. It will save you a “place in line” to ensure you qualify for the most financial aid. That’s because students who put off doing the FAFSA often get less money. You can decide later whether or not to use the aid. Doing the FAFSA doesn’t obligate you to accept any aid packages.

Bring all the materials and you should be able to complete most of the FAFSA at College Goal Sunday. Then you can finish completing the form with your parents later.

At College Goal Sunday, you can do the FAFSA on paper, but doing it online will give you a faster response. To do it online, students and one of their parents will each need a FAFSA PIN number. To obtain a PIN, log on to www.pin.ed.gov. You will use your PIN to re-apply for financial aid each year, so don’t lose it!

College Goal Sunday is an open house event that provides parents and students with FREE help filling out the FAFSA college aid form. Pre-registration is not required.

You (and your parents) should bring the following to College Goal Sunday:

• Correct Social Security numbers (can be found on Social Security card)

• Driver’s license (if any)

• 2007 federal tax returns or 2006 federal tax returns, if 2007 returns are not complete.

• 2007 untaxed income records – Social Security, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, welfare or veterans benefits records

• 2007 bank statements

• 2007 business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, and stock, bond, and other investment records

• Alien registration card (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

College Goal Sunday will be held at 26 locations across the state of Michigan. Click here to find a location near you.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Michigan College Goal Sunday event can inquire with Partnership for Learning at 1-800-832-2464.

For more information about College Goal Sunday, call the Partnership for Learning helpline toll free at 1-800-832-2464.

Partnership for Learning coordinates the program with our lead partners the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association and the Michigan Guaranty Agency. In addition, more than a dozen other organizations, such as TG and the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation provide assistance. More than 20 institutions donate space and more than 300 individuals volunteer their time. Seed funding for the program was provided by the Lumina Foundation for Education and the model for the program was adopted from the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association. Michigan’s College Goal Sunday program is supported by Partnership for Learning’s initiative to deliver an array of collaborative services to increase the percentage of students who complete a degree beyond high school.

Anyone interested in attending a post-secondary institution that needs help paying for college. This may be a technical school, community college, or a university. If possible, please bring your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) with you.

The Lumina Foundation has provided a start-up grant for College Goal Sunday in cooperation with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, but the success of the program relies on the volunteer efforts of hundreds throughout Michigan, especially volunteer financial aid professionals from the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association and school counselors from the Michigan School Counselor Association. Educators and their associations across the state have pitched in by providing publicity assistance, site locations, volunteers and other help along the way. Partnership for Learning, www.partnershipforlearning.org, coordinates all efforts.

You will be completing the FAFSA, and at no time will anyone ask to see your personal information. If you need help on a section that includes personal information, all information reviewed by the College Goal Sunday volunteers will be kept private and confidential and will not be used for any purpose other than helping you complete the FAFSA.

If translation is available, it is noted in the site location information. Click here to find out more about the College Goal Sunday locations.

All students are eligible to apply for student financial assistance. Each year, colleges, universities and technical centers assist all students (including full-time, part-time, and day and evening students) in finding available funds from federal, state and campus sources to make educational programs affordable.

Many students don’t apply for financial aid because they don’t think they’re eligible or because they don’t understand student financial assistance regulations and procedures.

The best way to find out if you are eligible is to apply using the FAFSA. It is impossible to determine your true eligibility without this document. At the very least you will qualify for a low-interest loan, but you could also be eligible for grants, scholarships and the Work-Study Program.

Yes, you can fill out the FAFSA online. It is recommended that you and your parents get FAFSA PIN numbers first so you can sign the FAFSA electronically. Using an electronic signature eliminates having to print out, sign and send in a signed paper application. After filling out the pre-application worksheet at College Goal Sunday, submitting the information online should be a simple process.

If you or your parents are filing a 2007 income tax return, we recommend filing it before completing the FAFSA. However, the income tax return does not need to be sent to the IRS before filling out your FAFSA. Also, you can estimate your taxes if you plan to complete them later in the year. If you estimate, you should estimate as close to your actual anticipated income as possible; you will be required to provide your actual tax information once it is available.

Your FAFSA information should be completed based on the information of the parent you lived with most during the last 12 months. If you didn’t live with either parent, or if you lived with each parent an equal number of days, use the information of the parent who provided the most financial support to you in the most recent calendar year.

You must enter your Social Security number on the FAFSA form. If you don’t submit your Social Security number, the form will be returned unprocessed and you will not be considered for federal and state aid.

The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and it is the form required of any student seeking federal financial aid, including federal student grants, Work-Study funds and loans. The application is used to apply for state grants and some private financial aid. You can learn more about the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Under the federal definition, an independent student is one who meets at least one of the following conditions:

• Is 24 years old (born before January 1, 1984, for academic year 2007-2008)

• Is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

• Is an orphan (parents deceased) or a ward of the court (or was a ward of the court until age 18)

• Has legal dependents other than a spouse

• Is married

• Is a graduate or a professional student