State reps announce student financial aid program to be held on Jan. 27

    State Reps. Richard Cleary, D-Houlton, and Patricia Sutherland, D-Chapman, announced that College Goal Sunday 2008 will take place on January 27 at 2 p.m. The statewide concurrent event will have two Aroostook County locations – in Presque Isle at the Fishbowl (Folsom 105) at University of Maine at Presque Isle and in Houlton at the Houlton Higher Education Center on Military Street.      “The Financial Authority of Maine organizes this program every year to help students apply for financial aid for the coming school year,” said Cleary who serves on the Legislature’s Business, Research and Economic Development Committee, which oversees the Financial Authority of Maine (FAME). “There are a lot of really talented Mainers who get into college but can’t afford to attend. Filling out financial aid forms is confusing, and if you do it wrong or don’t file on time, you can lose out.”
    In order to qualify for financial aid, students must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). College Goal Sunday is a volunteer program coordinated by FAME to provide free assistance to families applying for financial aid from technical and community colleges and universities. The Aroostook County programs are part of 26 College Goal Sunday events happening concurrently throughout the state.
    At Sunday’s seminar, FAME will provide coaching staff to walk individuals through the FAFSA line by line and answer any questions regarding state and federal financial aid programs. Attendees should bring copies of their most recent tax information. 
     “Higher education is vital to Maine’s economic development and prosperity,” said Sutherland, a member of the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee as well as the Future Maine Prosperity Committee. “In New England, 42 percent of people held higher degrees in 2005, while Maine had only 34.7 percent. We have to do better as a state in order to remain competitive.”
     If you are unable to attend an event, you can file your FAFSA online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. William Norbert of FAME cautions against using other Web sites with FAFSA in the name, as many charge for assistance in filling out the forms.
     For more information on College Goal Sunday and state higher education resources, contact Cleary at 532-6675 or Sutherland at 764-1490. You can find more information about College Goal Sunday, including a list of locations, at www.collegegoalsundaymaine.com.