FAFSA opens door to financial aid

I recently heard the story of an Illinois teenager who hoped to attend college in pursuit of an advertising career. She was the first in her family to consider college; funds were tight. She was unsure where to turn until a volunteer from the not-for-profit Tax Assistance Program (TAP) entered her life.

The TAP volunteer helped this young woman and her family fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), resulting in her securing $29,000 in aid to enable her to attend a four-year university.

Next to a marriage license, the FAFSA may be the most important form you ever complete. FAFSA determines eligibility for grants, scholarships, loans and work-study programs, and is the essential first step in receiving college financial aid from federal, state and private sources.

A national study found that of the students who did not submit a FAFSA, 43 percent were from low-income households and would have been most likely to have received assistance. Founded in 1994, TAP recruits 1,900 volunteers who help low-income families complete their income tax returns for free.

Since the FAFSA requires information from a tax return, TAP formed a partnership with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) in 2004 to train TAP volunteers to help eligible families complete the FAFSA. Since then, nearly 4,000 Illinois families have completed the FAFSA with help from ISAC-trained TAP volunteers, reaping an estimated $40 million more in college aid for Illinois students. For free help in completing your income taxes and FAFSA, visit www.taxassistance.org. For more about ISAC's programs and grants, visit www.collegezone.com.

The sooner you submit your FAFSA, the more likely you'll be to qualify for substantial college aid. This partnership between TAP and ISAC helps Illinois taxpayers get in the game.

Andrew Davis

Executive Director

Illinois Student

Assistance Commission

Springfield