Aiming to give families a chance to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid with support from financial aid representatives, Northwood’s college and career team hosted a Cash 4 College workshop on Nov. 6.

The workshop, hosted in partnership with Santiago Canyon College, provided hands-on support by bringing financial aid officers directly to campus, informing families about grants, loans and new California-specific programs.

“By filling out the FAFSA application, you could qualify for a grant, which is free money given to students based on the parent income,” college and career technician Alyssa Phan said. “Another thing that’s being considered through that is a California grant. So regardless of your parent income, I recommend you fill out the application because you never know what kind of scholarship opportunity, or even grant and loans opportunity, will be given to you.”

Unlike past years, Phan decided to hold the event well before the March 2 deadline to give students and parents more time to work on the application. 

Those who were unable to attend can check the college and career newsletter for updates on future FAFSA workshops. This includes IUSD’s districtwide workshop in December and Northwood’s upcoming workshop in partnership with Irvine Valley College at the end of January.