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Missouri Faces FAFSA Frenzy

Adam Procter
/
Flickr

  Missouri’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid - or FAFSA, application deadline is coming up on April 1. Across the state, high schools and other learning facilities are hosting FAFSA Frenzy events.  FAFSA Frenzy, which provides professional assistance for completing the application, will be held in 86 different locations until the April 1 deadline.

Director of Communications for the Missouri Department of Higher Education Liz Coleman said these events are beneficial to all students who plan on using financial aid to pay for college. The program, which began in 2004, has helped 12,000 Missouri students fill out the application statewide.

“The program is growing every year,” Coleman said. “We have more sites each year. This year we have 88 events being held in 40 counties and that’s the largest number of events that we’ve had.”

There will also be events held in Columbia, Boonville, Fulton and Mexico. Moberly Area Community College will host its FAFSA Frenzy event on Sunday March 15 at 2 p.m. Assistant Director of Financial Aid of the college, Jennifer Haynes, said this program is very beneficial to Moberly area students.

“I know for our students we rely on it heavily,” Haynes said. “We have students that attend MACC, about 75 percent of our students are on some form of financial aid, and the FAFSA is the initial application to apply for federal and state aid programs.”

In order to receive federal funding a student must complete FAFSA. Students who come from all communities may be equally reliant on federal funding to support their higher education. The effects that FAFSA Frenzy has on a community can resonate with students anywhere.

“I think it impacts them on a pretty high level just because it does give them the opportunity to come in and sit with someone,” Haynes said. “I think students can feel at ease whenever they see that they can get professional help.”

There are several high schools within the Moberly area which are collaborating to provide this opportunity to students. Haynes said 25 to 30 students attend this FAFSA frenzy event each year and she hopes the number will increase in the future.