The S.C. Commission on Higher Education shared advice from a state tuition grants official on completing the FAFSA and using available financial aid resources.
Students and families preparing for college should use available resources and ask for help when navigating the financial aid process, according to the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
Zachary Christian, deputy director at the South Carolina Tuition Grants Commission, shared guidance on the FAFSA with the commission. Christian said students and families should turn to financial aid administrators, school counselors and state higher education agencies for support, including the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement, the South Carolina Technical College System and the Tuition Grants Commission.
“We’re all there to help support students, and we all have different resources to help them along their way,” Christian said.
Christian said the FAFSA is a federal application that can also open access to some state and institutional aid programs. He said students should not assume they are ineligible and skip the form, noting that many non-need-based programs still require a completed FAFSA.
“There are a lot of state and institutional programs that are not need-based,” Christian said. “You still need to complete that FAFSA in order to have access to those aid programs.”
Because recent changes to the FAFSA have altered some questions, Christian said families should read each question carefully rather than assume what is being asked. He said tax information is often transferred automatically, and some families mistakenly enter income figures when the form is asking about assets instead.
“Families and students should be paying attention to each of the questions that they do get asked and not try to assume what the form is asking,” Christian said.
Christian also recommended that students consult their college’s financial aid office, saying staff there want students to succeed and can explain programs and policies tied to individual records. He urged students to regularly check their student email accounts, since colleges use them to send information about aid resources and deadlines.
“The number one advice I can say to ensure students don’t miss out on any financial aid resources and to get full advantage of their aid resources is to always check their emails,” Christian said.
The commission said more information on financial aid and the FAFSA is available at StudentAid.gov.
Based on a release from S.C. Commission on Higher Education.
Source: S.C. Commission on Higher Education original release.
