[195] MTSU conducts College Goal Sunday on Dec. 4

For release: Dec. 1, 2011

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu
MTSU Scholarship Office contact: Bonnie McCarty, 615-904-8414 or Bonnie.Mccarty@mtsu.edu


MTSU conducts College Goal Sunday on Dec. 4

MURFREESBORO — As part of the annual College Goal Sunday, MTSU financial-aid officials have agreed to run a pilot program to see if they can help families prepare the FAFSA on their own in early January.

College Goal Sunday at MTSU will be Sunday, Dec. 4, from 2 until 4:30 p.m. in the south lobby of the Business and Aerospace Building.

All of the other 30-plus College Goal Sunday sites in Tennessee — including Nashville, Lebanon, Lynchburg, Clarksville, Cookeville, Columbia, McMinnville and Gallatin in middle Tennessee — will held in January or February.

FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the online method where families can submit their financial information to Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, in order to see how much aid prospective students might need beyond high school.

“MTSU’s College Goal Sunday FAFSA Prep Workshop will assist prospective college students in preparing to apply for financial aid in early January, in order to qualify for federal grants and loans, state grants and the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship,” said Bonnie McCarty, assistant director of scholarships in the Scholarships Office.

McCarty said many types of need-based aid, including a state grant of $1,000 to $4,000 per year, have very limited funding. Therefore, students are encouraged to file a FAFSA in early to mid-January. Funds for 2011-12 ran out in early February 2011, she said.

“MTSU’s FAFSA Prep Workshop will allow students to receive free assistance in preparing to file the FAFSA independently on Jan. 1, 2012, when the 2012-13 FAFSA first becomes available,” McCarty said.

The workshop is a 2½-hour series of sessions and not a drop-in event, she added.

For more information, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/financialaid/cgs.shtml, call McCarty at 615-898-8414 or email BonnieMccarty@mtsu.edu. For other CGS locations, visit http://tn.gov/CollegeGoalSunday/locations.html.

###

Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU is celebrating its 100th anniversary with special events and activities throughout the 2011-12 academic year.
-------

For MTSU news and information anytime, visit www.mtsunews.com.