Free Workshop to Help Students Complete Federal Financial Aid Forms

FASTrack program partners with financial aid office for session

The FAFSA workshop will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 3) in Conner Hall, Room 12.

The FAFSA workshop will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 3) in Conner Hall, Room 12.

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi FASTrack Program is partnering with the Office of Financial Aid for a workshop to help students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA.

The FAFSA workshop will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 3) in Conner Hall, Room 12. The FAFSA must be renewed each year, so the workshop is free and open to all Ole Miss students.

Students will be able to ask questions and get immediate answers from FAFSA experts from the Office of Financial Aid, as well as FASTrack staff.

“We want to empower our students by ensuring they understand the full picture of the cost of college,” said Gray Flora, FASTrack academic mentor and coordinator for the workshop. “One way to do that is to develop the habit of filling out the FAFSA early.”

The FASTrack Program prepares and supports freshman students, providing academic mentors and smaller class sizes.

While the event is free for UM students, all participants must RSVP online and receive a confirmation email. This will allow all participating students the time they will need to gather the necessary information to fill out the form, which is critical, said Nataša Novićević, senior financial aid adviser at the Office of Financial Aid.

“Completing the initial FAFSA application as accurately as possible reduces the need for future corrections and the possibility of being selected for the verification process by the U.S. Department of Education,” Novićević said.

Students will need either last year’s tax returns or an estimate of this year’s tax and income information. They will also need personal information for both the student and parents, including birthdates and social security numbers.

“One of the most difficult things for some students to understand is how to complete the parent section of the FAFSA,” Novićević said. “For example, if one’s parents are divorced, whichever parent the student lives with the majority of the calendar year is the primary parent. And if that parent is remarried, both parent and stepparent information is required.”

Another important change all students should keep in mind is that all FAFSA applicants, and their parents, need a Federal Student Aid ID, which is a new form of username and password required to sign the FAFSA. The process to apply for the FSA ID takes about 15 minutes, so all students and parents are encouraged to establish an FSA ID before the workshop.

For more information on the FAFSA, visit https://fafsa.gov. For more information about the FAFSA workshop, contact Gray Flora at egflora@olemiss.edu or Sara Baker at sebaker@olemiss.edu.