logoFAFSA for every student
  • FAFSA TRACKER
  • WHAT WORKS
  • THE GUIDE
  • GET SOCIAL
  • MORE RESOURCES

Month: December 2018

Alana: Leaving Home to Pursue Nursing

Posted on December 17, 2018December 17, 2018 by Barry Whitaker
Alana: Leaving Home to Pursue Nursing

“I’m the first generation to go to college,” says Alana. “When I was little, I wanted to go to college to get a better life and afford the things my family needs.”

“My family was always advising me to not give up and keep going with my education.”

Alana got interested in becoming a nurse early in life. “I would sometimes go to the hospital with my parents, grandparents or aunts or uncles. I liked the nurses because they made patients feel better when they felt really bad,” Alana remembers.

“I decided I want to major in nursing. I want a bachelor’s of science in nursing.”

“At the beginning of my senior year, I was scared because I didn’t have money to go to college. I talked to my counselor and told him my plan was to go to a community college for two years instead because it would cost less.”

“He said I could go to a four-year university if I wanted. He gave me information about the FAFSA and how to fill it out.”

Learning how to apply for financial aid

“When I first heard about the FAFSA, I was like, ‘Oh my God, how am I going to fill it out?’ I thought it was a long process and we were going to need lots of papers,” Alana recalls. “My mom and I were lost. We thought we wouldn’t be able to do it by ourselves.”

“We found out about a FAFSA night with Project GRAD. We attended and found out we didn’t need as many papers as I thought. They told us exactly what documents we needed and explained the whole process.”

Alana remembers how relaxed she felt after the FAFSA night. “We were with people like us — families that didn’t know exactly what to do. So we weren’t shy.”

Getting money for college — and her mom’s blessing to go

It took Alana and her mom about two hours to fill out the FAFSA at a workshop with Project GRAD. “It was pretty easy because Project GRAD told us what documents we needed to bring.”

“We had to create an email account for my mom. Then there was a part where we had to connect with the IRS so my mom can show her income tax. We had to know the type of income tax you filed, which was hard because my mom and I didn’t https://adderalloral.com know,” Alana remembers.

“It was confusing, but there was a lady who was helping. She helped us know what kind of tax form we had, and then we could easily do it.”

After completing the FAFSA, Alana got her Estimated Family Contribution. “It said zero, which meant my family couldn’t contribute a lot to my education. I was really excited. The grants and loans I could get were really good. My mom was really happy, too,” says Alana.

“I was in the exact same position as a lot of students: I didn’t know anything about college or the FAFSA. I was really stressed.”

“I got a scholarship that covers 90 percent of my four years at the university. The other 10 percent that I got from the FAFSA will cover the rest. I feel really blessed and glad I filled out the FAFSA.”

But Alana and her mom were having doubts about her leaving home. “At the beginning, I didn’t want to leave, and my mom didn’t want to let me go. But it’s better for me to be on campus so I have more study time. My counselor knew we were sad and decided to talk to my mom.”

“Even though my mom is sad that I’m going, she says she understands now. She says it is for my future and anything for my future is good for her too,” Alana adds.

Alana’s advice: Talk to someone who knows about this stuff

“I was in the exact same position as a lot of students: I didn’t know anything about college or the FAFSA. I was really stressed,” she says.

“But my advice is to look for help and information. Talk to your counselor or an organization like Project GRAD. They know a lot about how you can pay for college.”

“Some of my classmates didn’t fill out the FAFSA. They kind of regret it. I heard them saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I should have filled out the FAFSA back in October.’ Now they’re feeling sad because they have to fill it out by themselves.”

“If you don’t know what to do, that is fine. Look for advice from teachers, counselors or even friends. Start as soon as possible.”

Alana will be attending Sam Houston State University and studying nursing. She’s happy she’ll only be about an hour and a half away from her mom.

Posted in Student StoriesLeave a Comment on Alana: Leaving Home to Pursue Nursing

Achieve Atlanta’s FAFSA Success Guide

Posted on December 11, 2018December 11, 2018 by Ryan
Achieve Atlanta’s FAFSA Success Guide

In 2016, the percentage of APS students who had completed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) the previous year was 51%. Reflecting the national trend, APS students and their families were leaving valuable federal aid on the table, which made their transition from high school to post-secondary study that much harder. For many families, college was simply out of reach for financial reasons.

In response, Achieve Atlanta made it a priority to improve FAFSA completion rates among Atlanta Public Schools students, believing that in addition to the obvious financial benefits, the experience of completing the FAFSA might build momentum to successfully navigate the path to college. At the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, Achieve Atlanta engaged in a series of deliberate action steps aimed at driving FAFSA completion among that year’s Senior class. The positive results were striking, as almost 300 more families completed the FAFSA than the year before, boosting the previously stagnant completion percentage by 10 points.

Please download the pdf for the complete article.

Posted in What WorksLeave a Comment on Achieve Atlanta’s FAFSA Success Guide

Recent Posts

  • FAFSA Renewals Down 12%, Nearly 900,000 Students Through March 31
  • Karina: From Rehab to College
  • 5 Key Components of State FAFSA Challenges
  • North Carolina Model Offers Promising Statewide Approach to Driving FAFSA Completion
  • NCAN’s FAFSA Tracker Returns for 5th Year Hoping for a Trendline Turnaround

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • April 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • January 2021
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018

    Categories

    • Data
    • FAFSA Pros
    • Student Stories
    • Uncategorized
    • What Works

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    #FORMYOURFUTURE is sponsored by

    National College access Network

    About Privacy Policy
    cc creative commons

    Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license and a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International license.

    © 2023 NCAN. All rights reserved.