“Education is the most powerful means of increasing individual opportunity and

creating more prosperous, fair and just societies. So to have the privilege of

participating in that mission is as much as anybody can hope for in life.”

The Privilege Of Working In Education

-B. Joseph White, University of Illinois

“High impact counselors realize that the positive outcomes of counseling sessions are not just limited to students; in fact, the real joy

of counseling occurs when counselors understand how fulfilling it is to really impact other peoples’ lives and how much they can

learns from their students.”

The Joy of Counseling

- Jennifer Bloom

DEFINING THE NEED

DEFINING THE NEED - 42% increase in high school students going straight to college over 30 years time (Dwyer, 2012) - SES disparities in college attendance (52%,82%) (Dwyer,

2012)

- Less than 55% of all seniors complete the FAFSA (Phillips, 2014)

- Americans do not like addressing finances (Kossman, 2014) (44%; worse than death, politics & religion)

DEFINING THE NEED Barriers To Financial Aid (Feeney & Heroff, 2013)

- Intimidating Forms; Too Many Questions

- The Need For Detailed Parent Information

- Assumption of Parental Support

- Lack of General Knowledge (low SES, 1st generations)

DEFINING THE NEED Reasons Of Not Completing The FAFSA (Davidson, 2013)

- Students think they won’t qualify for aid

- Forms are too much work (long & confusing)

- Students don’t want to take on debt

- Family income too high to qualify

DEFINING THE NEED Communications Gap Between Students & Parents

(Perkins, 2015)

- 48% of students believe their parents will pay for college - 16% of parents plan to pay for college - 89% of parents say their children learn financial literacy

from them - 34% of parents don’t discuss money with their children

DEFINING THE NEED

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS School Year 2015-2016

181 total questions pertaining to scholarships and/or financial aid; 56 students

- 38 seniors (59) - 12 juniors (75) - 2 sophomores (78) - 4 freshmen (92)

VACCHIO’S TOP 3 QUESTIONS

3) If I live only with (one parent,) what do I put down on my FAFSA?

2) Where do I go apply for the Life Scholarship?

1) Can you help me with my FAFSA?

2016’S MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS (Groark, 2016)

1) How do I fill out the FAFSA?

2) When is the FAFSA due?

3) When do I find out how much money I’ll get?

4) What is the FAFSA?

2016’S MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS (Groark, 2016)

5) Can I use 2014’s tax information? 6) How do I get my FSA ID?

7) Can I fill out the FAFSA if I’m undocumented/ parents undocumented/DACA? 8) If I have no money, can I still go to college?

FINANCIAL AID/FAFSA INITIATIVES - College Goal Sunday (1989)

- Began In Indiana - 34 states currently - Estimated 30,000 students served in 2015

- FAFSA Completion Initiative (2014)

- FAFSA Completion Challenge Grant Initiative

(2016-2017)

COLLEGE GOAL SUNDAY DATA

- South Carolina (College Goal SC) - Sites have almost tripled over 4 years time (17 in 2012, 47 in 2016) - Results have fluctuated (719 in 2014, 1290 in 2012) 24 high schools participated in CG SC in 2016

COLLEGE GOAL SUNDAY DATA - Ohio - 56 sites, 1581 students serviced in 2015 - Target Audience: Underrepresented Minorities, Low-Income Families, First Gen. Students - 60% of students met target audience criteria - Median income higher than state average - Overrepresentation of Caucasian & Asian-Am, Underrepresentation of African-Am & Hispanics

THE FUTURE OF FINAID AWARENESS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

- Collaboration between Financial Aid Administrators & School Counselors

- - Professional Development On Site Seminar, Webinar, Conference Participation

- - SCASFAA Updates & Workshops on SC Guidance Listserv

- - Elimination of Third-Party Education

THE FUTURE OF FINAID AWARENESS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

- Proposed SC FAFSA Month/FASFA Day (February)

- - Designed to Complement College Application Day

- - Daylong Assistance & Festivities On SC High School Campuses

- - Financial Aid Experts On Hand To Assist With FAFSA Completion