Helping Students Navigate Financial Aid
Financial hurdles can be the most daunting barriers for underserved students to attend college. A key component of our work is educating students and their families about the tools and resources that exist; training them to successfully navigate financial aid and scholarships applications and processes; and ensuring they have a clear, sustainable financial plan on how to pay for college.
CSF educates students and their families on how to navigate each step of the financial aid process, which can be complex and overwhelming for students in the best of circumstances, but especially daunting for those who need the most support by accessing critical grants like the Federal Pell Grant and Washington College Grant.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating financial impact on underserved families, heightening the importance of filing financial aid applications early. When applications opened October 1, CSF was already in action hosting scores of English and Spanish webinars for students and their families on topics that cover each of the four critical steps of the process:
- Filing an application for federal (FAFSA) or state (WASFA) student aid.
- The verification process for those students who get selected.
- The appeal process to what those applications award.
- Understanding financial aid award letters.
CSF also helps build capacity in the community by educating school faculty and other community organizations so they can support the students in their programs. The Washington College Access Network (WCAN) is a statewide collective of professionals in K-12 schools and districts, state agencies, college-access providers, postsecondary institutions and community-based organizations who support low-income students in graduating high school and pursuing a postsecondary pathway. CSF’s social media campaign #FinancialAidFriday broadcasts timely tips and resources throughout the financial aid season.
In both Washington, D.C. and Olympia, CSF is a critical partner in advocating to preserve and continue investment in need-based grants like the Washington College Grant and Pell Grant. These financial aid packages are most powerful when paired with scholarships like the ones that College Success Foundation manages and administers, Leadership 1000 Scholarship and Washington State Governors’ Scholarship For Foster Youth.
Our goal is to ensure that each scholar is empowered to pursue their dream of a college education without compromising their financial future.
If you are a College Success Foundation partner and would like to schedule a staff training, please email us.