February is National Financial Aid Awareness Month

February is National Financial Aid Awareness month across America and to highlight this proclamation, DMACC has launched a new campaign to encourage all prospective college and university students to fill out their Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA).

In Central Iowa only about half of high school students and their parents annually complete the FAFSA form.

“February is the perfect time for us to remind families of FAFSA’s importance,” Jerry McKeen, Director of Financial Aid at DMACC, said. “I hope that all colleges and universities in Iowa will see more incoming applicants file this important document.”

The DMACC campaign will include outreach to high schools, digital advertising, new signage, marketing materials, radio and the new tagline, “Don’t Hibernate, You’ll Be Late, File Your FAFSA!” (DMACC’s mascot is a bear).

Administered by the U.S. Department of Education, FAFSA is a form that asks some personal and income-related questions. Its purpose is to assess a person or family’s financial need. FAFSA is a financial aid application, but it is often used in the scholarship selection process as well.

“FAFSA is free, it doesn’t take much time to fill out and it serves as an on-ramp to be eligible for financial aid, scholarships, grants and loans. Besides applying to college, this is the most important task a prospective student and their families should do,” McKeen said.

At DMACC, some financial aid, such as the Iowa Last Dollar Scholarship, have no income guidelines, but still require FAFSA. Each year, DMACC students receive scholarships and grants totaling more than $20 million. During the last school year more than 13,000 DMACC students received financial assistance.

The average cost of a college education across the US has risen 25 percent over the past decade. Receiving financial aid can ease the cost of a higher education.

“Unfortunately, many prospective students and families don’t complete their FAFSA,” McKeen said. “Perhaps it’s an awareness issue or they think they won’t qualify for grants or scholarships, but either way, it’s worth the time to complete this form. We hope DMACC’s awareness campaign will let people know that FAFSA is a valuable financial aid tool.”

The FAFSA deadline for DMACC students enrolling in the fall semester is July 1, but McKeen recommends filling out FAFSA as early as possible. Some aid programs have much earlier deadlines such as the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, which has a March 1 deadline each year.