Paying for college can be expensive and confusing, but Gavilan
College is offering new, continuing and future students and their
families help with figuring out financial aid.
Hollister – Paying for college can be expensive and confusing, but Gavilan College is offering new, continuing and future students and their families help with figuring out financial aid.
The college will hold two workshops, FAFSA Fridays and CASH for College, throughout February in Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Benito County. The workshops will feature representatives from Gavilan College Financial Aid and CalSOAP, a program that helps students learn more about college and financial aid.
Students will learn how to fill out the Free Application for Financial Aid and Cal Grant GPA Verification Form. Both forms are necessary to determine eligibility to apply for financial aid, but many students find them difficult and confusing to fill out, or they don’t realize they may be eligible for financial aid. Eligible students will be able to receive tuition assistance for college through the Cal Grant Competitive and Entitlement Programs.
Audren Morris, director of financial aid at Gavilan College, said that along with providing assistance, the workshops are intended to help clear up misconceptions students have about financial aid.
“There’s always a lot of myths out there. I hear students say, ‘My friend told me this,’ or ‘Well, I heard that,'” she said. “This helps get the right information out there.”
Community college tuition has gone from $11 per unit in 2002-03 to $18 in 2003-04 to $26 this year, a 136 percent increase. A typical course is three or four units, so taking one class costs $78 or $104. A full-time student, enrolled in 12 units, pays $312 per semester or $624 per year. Other related fees and charges are numerous, including health services, parking, class materials and enrollment fees. On top of all that, the cost of books and other class supplies can tack on several hundred dollars more.
Students should take a number of documents to the workshops, including a Social Security card and driver’s license or other government-issued identification, their parents’ Social Security cards if claimed as dependent, students’ and parents’ 2004 Federal Tax Forms or W2 forms and a statement of income or benefits received in 2004 for students and parents.
