Connecting with families for a language-supported financial aid night
CSF recently held a Language-Supported Financial Aid Night geared towards Spokane public high school students and their families. Hosted at Ferris High School, financial aid experts from College Success Foundation and the Community Colleges of Spokane were on site to answer financial aid questions and to walk families through the FAFSA and WASFA forms. To make the event even more accessible, Spanish, Marshallese, Ukrainian, Karen and Arabic language interpreters from Spokane Public Schools were available for one-on-one support sessions.
Before diving into the complex world of college financial aid, students and families need to select the right form. Students who are eligible for federal financial aid can fill out the FAFSA. Students who are ineligible for federal financial aid because of their immigration status can fill out the WASFA questionnaire to see if they are eligible to receive state or institutional financial aid.
The importance of tailoring outreach to build connections
Making strong, personal connections and demystifying the financial aid process for non-native English speakers and first-generation students is key in supporting our mission population to access and eventually have success in college.
Jennifer Hardin, a CSF advisor at Ferris High School, describes why it’s so important to focus financial aid education outreach within specific groups: “Just because there’s a language barrier doesn’t mean that students should be left out of receiving financial aid and forgo their dreams of going to college. In developing this event, we wanted to make sure that ELD students had an opportunity to meet with a financial aid professional and have an interpreter there to help them file their FAFSA or WASFA.”
In determining which languages to offer families at their financial aid night, Jennifer explains, “I looked at the home languages of students at Ferris High School and focused on the five predominant languages spoken at home, and ended up casting an even wider net because we have such a diverse population at our school.”
Jennifer knows that the financial aid process is complex and students might need follow-up meetings to feel comfortable hitting submit. “This isn’t just a one-time event and we’re done. We hope all students were able to start their application and leave with a game plan towards completion. Because we strengthened our connections tonight, they’ll be able to arrange one-on-one time with the interpreters and me after the event. I am also inviting the students to be a part of our first-generation college club at school.”
Navigating FAFSA hiccups
With the new FAFSA timeframe shortened, time is of the essence for students who plan to attend college in fall 2024 to complete the financial aid form. Without a completed FAFSA, students cannot receive financial aid award letters from their colleges–which for the population CSF serves is absolutely critical for college enrollment. The unfamiliar road to filling out the new FAFSA has been bumpy and at times frustrating for students and families.
In the month since the form opened, students and families have been met with several technical issues, including the form not autosaving, error messages popping up, or parent data not syncing up with the form–which makes parents complete an attestation form with additional backup documentation. It can be a lot of extra hoops to jump through for a form that was meant to be easier to complete. And, if language is a barrier, it can make the FAFSA process even more unwieldy for families. In the coming months, CSF will continue to help to solve for these issues by providing one-on-one help and hosting accessible FAFSA completion events in tandem with our community and school district partners.
More financial aid resources
Each year at this time CSF high school advisors and college coaches focus on providing financial aid education to their students and this year is no exception given the brief application window. Completing the FAFSA or WASFA is an annual application process, so what students (and families) learn in high school can help set them up for success during their college years.
All CSF Scholars attending high school and college have accessible opportunities throughout the financial aid season that allow for one-on-one guidance in navigating the forms. Additionally, students and practitioners can check out CSF’s Financial Aid Hub for additional resources.
Many thanks to Spokane Public Schools and Community Colleges of Spokane for providing support and interpreters for the event, and for your partnership in preparing students to access college.