FAFSA Super Saturday Targets Prospective College Students

TYLER — The East Texas Human Needs Network (ETHNN), the Tyler Area Business Education Council, Educate Texas, Smith County independent school districts and area colleges and universities have partnered on a FAFSA Super Saturday today. According to press materials, the event is intended to provide assistance for prospective college students and their parents to apply for federal financial aid. Volunteers will man computer stations at four Tyler locations from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., to help individuals complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and thus become potentially eligible for financial assistance for post-secondary attainment.

“FAFSA Super Saturday is an outreach to all of our area’s high school juniors and seniors and their parents, to encourage them to apply for federal aid and help them in their efforts to fund a college education,” said Fred Peters, ETHNN education chair. He said Super Saturdays have been successful in the Rio Grande Valley and Dallas, and that a similar campaign in Austin has resulted in significant increases in FAFSA completion rates over the past decade. According to Educate Texas, Smith County high schools currently hold a 48.3 percent completion rate for FAFSA, compared to a state average of more than 51 percent. Visit http://www.ethnn.org to learn more.