This content was published: January 14, 2008. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Financial Aid Day a big opportunity for students
Story by James Hill. Photos by Bryan Hoybook.
Funding for Oregon Opportunity and federal Pell grants have increased for community college students. The challenge is how to get the students to take advantage of this opportunity.
In partnership with the College Goal Oregon Program, PCC has found a way. The college is hosting Financial Aid Day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, at PCC’s main comprehensive campuses. College campus locations include Cascade, Sylvania, Rock Creek and the Southeast Center.
This is an opportunity for current and future students to get some help in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Students don’t need to be enrolled at PCC to participate in Financial Aid Day and those who do attend will be eligible to win a $500 scholarship.
Volunteers will be on hand to help students fill out the FAFSA, either online at a computer or in print. Students should bring their parents if possible and both should have ready their Social Security numbers, birth dates, financial aid PIN numbers, which can be requested at www.pin.ed.gov. Other information needed to fill the form out includes an income statement for 2007 (W-2, last pay stub or 2006 tax return), and current value of assets that include cash, checking, savings and investments.
The day is perfect for students such as Rocio Ceja-Roman, who needs a hand up in paying for college. She works at a Washington County health clinic as a medical assistant where she aids in patient care and serves as a translator. She also attends PCC. By attending PCC and using financial aid, Ceja-Roman hopes to enroll in a nursing program by 2008.
“It was a huge weight off my shoulders,” she said of Financial Aid Day in 2006. “A staff member helped me when I had questions. I was nervous at first, but the Financial Aid Day last year was very helpful. The amount of money I received as a result of it has helped me to pay for half of my credits. To me this event was 100 percent valuable. I had to work full-time and go to school, but with the financial aid help I’ve received I can work part-time. I can get closer to my goal.”
Ceja-Roman isn’t your traditional college student. She enrolled at PCC when she got out of high school in 1996. She was studying in the college’s EMT program, but an unexpected pregnancy stopped her education. She became a mother who needed to provide for her child. But since she was able to fill out the FAFSA form and get the aid she needed, nothing is stopping her from reaching her educational goals.
“It was a huge weight off my shoulders,” Ceja-Roman said. “I had to work full-time and go to school, but with the financial aid help I’ve received I can work part-time. I can get closer to my goal.”
Another student who got help was Lisa Hummel. She had graduated from the college’s Project Independence program, which serves women who are transitioning to school or the workplace. Like many students, when she first enrolled at PCC, she said she didn’t even know what the FAFSA was.
“I definitely didn’t know the first thing about FAFSA when I started school,” said Hummel, a regular volunteer for Loaves and Fishes and Meals on Wheels. “But from going last year I saw advisors really walking people through the form. They do it all right there. I wished I had the help when I first started three years ago because I didn’t know what I was doing. I had to struggle with it at home.”
For Hummel, Financial Aid Day gave her the confidence she needed to be successful at her studies. The gerontology program graduate participated in a scholarship workshop at the 2005 Financial Aid Day on the Cascade Campus.
“I really needed help with school,” Hummel said. “I didn’t know how to apply for scholarships. But I was able to learn and find out more information. What they offered at Financial Aid Day really benefited me. I found out where the scholarships were and I ended up getting Portlandia Club, Danish Sisterhood and Ford scholarships.”
The money for the Oregon Opportunity Grants goes to qualified full-time students and eligible part-time students (taking a minimum of six credits). PCC downloads the FAFSA records directly from the Central Processing Center and will then notify students via a letter whether or not they have received an Oregon Opportunity Grant. Eligibility is based on a financial need formula through the Oregon Student Assistance Commission.
The FAFSA form can be filled out annually by current and future college students to determine eligibility for federal student financial aid (including grants, loans, and work-study programs). The information on the form determines eligibility for the Oregon Opportunity and the Pell grants. The FAFSA consists of numerous questions regarding the student’s finances, as well as those of his or her family; these are entered into a formula that determines the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
For more information about Financial Aid Day, please call a location near you:
- Cascade Campus, (503) 978-5291
- Southeaest Center, (503) 788-6252
- Sylvania Campus, (503) 977-4520
- Rock Creek Campus, (503) 614-7225
To get started, contact PCC Financial Aid office, or go to the FAFSA form online.
Related Pages
Financial Aid office, Ceja-Roman’s Story, Lisa Hummel’s Story, Make college a “go!” in ’08!