January is Financial Aid month

Filing your FAFSA (https://fafsa.ed.gov) puts you in line for financial aid. Some financial aid is limited and is allocated on a first come, first served basis. In addition to the FAFSA, a number of schools require the CSS Profile (https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile). Unlike the FAFSA which is free to file, the CSS Profile is a fee-based form. (If you are low-income, the fee may be waived when you complete the form, if you meet the CSS Profile's criteria for being low income. If you do, they will send the Profile information to six schools for free. If you need it to go to more than six schools, you will have to pay for those). Finally, many colleges have additional financial aid forms to file, so be sure to check the financial aid pages for each of the colleges to which you applied.

You will need the following documents to fill out the FAFSA. Please make sure you enter your Social Security number correctly. That is the only piece of information that cannot be easily corrected.

• Your Social Security Number
• Your Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
• Your most recent federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned. (Note: You may be able to transfer your federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.)
• Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)
• Records of untaxed income (if applicable)
• A Federal Student Aid PIN to sign electronically. (If you do not already have one, visit www.pin.ed.gov to obtain one.)

If you are a dependent student, then you will also need most of the above information for your parent(s).

Here is a list of places where you can get help with your FAFSA in Portland.

Saturday, January 10, 11:30am – 2:30pm 
(Session One: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Two: 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ) 
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Sponsored Workshop 
University of Portland, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. Waldschmidt Hall, Room 218 
http://www.hmccoregon.com/events/ 

Tuesday, January 13, 5:30 registration, 6 – 8pm 
PCC Pay for College Night, Sylvania Campus 
12000 SW 49th Ave 
http://www.pcc.edu/enroll/paying-for-college/financial-aid/apply/day/ 

Wednesday, January 14, 5:30 registration, 6 – 8pm 
PCC Pay for College Night, Rock Creek Campus 
17705 NW Springville Rd 
http://www.pcc.edu/enroll/paying-for-college/financial-aid/apply/day/ 

Thursday, January 15, 5:30 registration, 6 – 8pm 
PCC Pay for College Night, Southeast Campus 
2305 SE 82nd Ave 
http://www.pcc.edu/enroll/paying-for-college/financial-aid/apply/day/ 

Saturday, January 17, 9am – 12noon 
College Goal Oregon 
Warner Pacific College, 2219 SE 68th Ave. 
Egtvedt Hall, Room 203 
http://www.warnerpacific.edu/college-goal-oregon-event/ 

Saturday, January 24, 9am – 1pm 
College Goal Oregon 
Mt. Hood Community College, 26000 SE Stark St (Gresham) 
Orientation Center room 1002 
http://www.mhcc.edu/news.aspx?id=3798