It's time for college-bound students to apply for financial aid, and several events are being held to help Rochester City School District students and families complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The FASFA Fests kick off Wednesday, offering assistance on completing the forms and information on additional financial aid opportunities.
This year, fests will be held at each high school in the district, said Amy Stein, executive director of the Rochester Education Foundation, which has joined with partners to put on the event every year since 2013.
"Students feel more comfortable doing it in their own building, in their own home, with the people that they know, with the guidance counselors that they know," Stein said. "So they'll be there — the school counselors and then a number of our volunteers, which includes experts from financial aid offices."
This year, the foundation also has brought on student ambassadors to help get their peers to turn out for the FAFSA Fests. One of them is Hazel Roberts, a senior at Wilson Magnet High School Commencement Academy, who has already completed her application.
"My main purpose is to promote kids to actually go and not to be afraid of FAFSA," Roberts said. "It's not scary once you have help to get there."
Roberts is also president of the RCSD Student Leadership Congress. She is hoping to attend either Brown University or Hampton University.
Last year, the FAFSA application process was a nationwide debacle. The federal government rolled out a new application that was meant to simplify the process. But a series of delays and glitches botched the rollout, and colleges were, in turn, late developing aid packages for students.
This year's application was released Nov. 21.
Phil Hounshell, director of college access and success programs for the Rochester Education Foundation, said the organization has not heard of any problems like the ones last year.
The federal government opened the application in a few cities around the country to work out any kinks before it was fully released, Hounshell said.
