UNC to help students navigate new FAFSA requirements

GREELEY — The University of Northern Colorado will conduct four special sessions with prospective students to help them meet the new requirements of the federal financial aid system.

UNC and colleges across the country are seeing an increase in the number of applicants who are being asked by the U.S. Department of Education to supply additional documentation when filling out the Federal Application for Student Financial Aid, or FAFSA. The FAFSA is a standard form that is used by colleges and others that provide financial aid or that determine whether students are eligible for aid.

UNC’s meetings, two each on June 4 and 5, are designed to help guide students through the new process that some students are encountering.

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At UNC, the number of students who must provide additional documentation through the FAFSA has increased by nearly 1,000, from 2,344 to 3,305, from a year ago, according to the college’s financial aid office.

This year, UNC’s financial aid office has already helped approximately 1,349 students through this process. It would like to help at least 500 more before July 1. There are still more than 1,300 needy, new UNC students who must be cleared before they can get their actual aid eligibility determined, said Marty Somero, director of financial aid. “We want every student to get the aid and the opportunities they are entitled to, and we are here to help them over this hurdle,” he said.

Somero said he is concerned that highly qualified students may give up on the dream of going to college due to the additional step added to an already complicated process. “We want to see these students complete these requirements so they can see just what resources are available to them. We don’t want to see them decide not to attend UNC or another college simply because of these extra steps.”

The financial aid assistance sessions are not restricted just to prospective UNC students. “We’d certainly like to have them thinking about UNC, but more than that we want them to have the chance to pursue their college degree. If we can help them do that, we’re still happy,” said Sean Broghammer, director of admissions at UNC.