Cash for College workshops connect students to financial aid

KPCC Staff Article, January 14, 2016

Through 800-plus free Cash for College workshops, the California Student Aid Commission is walking students and their parents through financial aid options to help connect families to state and federal aid dollars.

California students have more than $2.1 billion in state aid and $20 billion in federal aid available to them to pay for higher education. The way they get access to that money: either the online FAFSA form or the California Dream Act application.

The forms mirror each other, with 130 questions each. The difference between the two is that the California Dream Act application doesn't require the student to have a Social Security number. 

With deadlines for the 2016-17 school year quickly approaching, students and parents should start looking into the sometimes daunting college financial aid process, according to Patti Colston, spokeswoman for the California Student Aid Commission.

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