Billions in aid goes unclaimed every year because the form defeats families who’ve never seen one. For a kid whose parents didn’t go to college, the adult sitting beside them at FAFSA night can be the difference between applying and giving up on the form.
Help Seniors Crack the FAFSA
Volunteer at a high school's financial-aid night and sit with first-generation families while they fight through the FAFSA — the form standing between their kid and the money that's already theirs.
What you'll need
- An email to the counseling office at a Title I high school offering to help
- Patience with a genuinely annoying government form
- Fill out fafsa.gov's demo yourself once, so you've seen the screens
Pitfalls
- You're a navigator, not a financial adviser. Form mechanics yes, money advice no.
- Never handle anyone's password or SSN — hands off the keyboard, eyes on the screen with permission.
- October through December is the season. Email the counselor in September.
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. — Proverbs 15:22