Illinois Wesleyan University
Schedules Financial Aid, Admission Workshop

Jan. 22, 2003

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—This year, Illinois Wesleyan University will be among 77 sites where parents and their children who are high school seniors can receive assistance in planning for college.

In recognition of February as the Financial Aid/Admission Awareness Month (FAAM), on February 15, Illinois Wesleyan University will offer a free financial aid workshop to these families, which will focus on the college admission and financial aid processes. The workshop will be held from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in the atrium of the Center for Natural Science, 201 E. Beecher St., Bloomington.

All activities sponsored by FAAM, a collaborative effort by the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC), the Illinois Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (ILASFAA), Inc., the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), and lending institutions, are free and open to the public.

Students and parents needing help with understanding or completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will have the opportunity to have individual assistance from financial aid professionals. Representatives from Illinois Wesleyan will be on hand to assist families with filling out the forms and answer related questions. Also, representatives from Illinois State University, Lincoln College and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission have been invited to be a part of the workshop.

There will be a financial aid administrator at the workshop to assist with filling out the FAFSA online, and to expedite the electronic filing process. Families should complete as much of the FAFSA as possible, in advance of the workshop. The U.S. Department of Education provides the FAFSA, free of charge, on the Internet at www.fafsa.ed.gov and in paper form to high schools, colleges, and libraries. Completing the FAFSA accurately and on time is the first and most important step to obtaining state and federal financial aid.

Families attending the Illinois Wesleyan or other FAFSA workshops will need to bring all completed or estimated 2002 income tax forms, as well as any other asset information for the student and parents, to complete the 2003-2004 FAFSA. In addition, families are encouraged to bring:

• Student driver’s license and Social Security card

• Records of untaxed income (welfare, Social Security, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, or veteran benefits)

• Current bank statements

• Current mortgage information for properties other than the family’s principal residence

• Records of businesses, farm (if not the family’s principal place of residence) and assets (stocks, bonds, and other investments)

• Hand-held calculators, if available.

Students and parents will be able to gather information on financial aid sources, such as grants, scholarships, Federal Work-Study and educational loans. Other topics to be discussed may include: electronic filing of the FAFSA; changes to the 2003-2004 FAFSA; early awareness issues such as academic preparation and planning for college costs; College Illinois!, Illinois 529 prepaid tuition program; and general information about federal tax credits and benefits for higher education.