Editor’s note: This article previously stated that the FAFSA event will be held on April 14. It has now been corrected to reflect the event’s correct date, April 18.
RACINE, KENOSHA — Current and prospective college students are invited to attend a FAFSA event which hopes to increase accessibility of financial aid in Racine and Kenosha Counties. The event will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on April 18 at Gateway Technical College’s Racine campus.
The importance of understanding FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a resource that college students can use to apply for grants and loans. All students are encouraged to apply, even if they believe they won’t qualify.
In December 2023, a new application form was launched, which “complicated the process and caused some delays in students getting their financial aid offers from their intended schools,” according to a recent press release.
To help students better understand this new form and to increase access to postsecondary education, organizations in Racine and Kenosha Counties joined together to support students who may be intimidated or confused by FAFSA.
Lead counselor at Park High School Jennifer Binneboese hosted a FAFSA event in collaboration with Gateway College’s student finance specialists in Fall 2023. Together, they had the idea to extend the service to the greater community of Racine and Kenosha.
Binneboese is quoted in the press release, calling the cross-county FAFSA event a logical next step.
“There hasn’t been a community-wide event in the area this year, and we thought why not just organize it ourselves?” Binneboese said.
Instructions for attending
The press release lists some guidelines for students interested in attending, and they are as follows:
- High school seniors are encouraged to bring their parents with them to the event, as the parents will be “contributors” to the financial aid form and have a component that they are responsible for completing
- Students and parents are highly advised to create their FSA ID at studentaid.gov at least one week prior to the event
- High school students are advised not to use their school emails, but a personal email address
The event will take place 4 to 7 p.m. on April 18 in the Conference Center of the Racine Building on Gateway’s Racine Campus, 1001 S. Main St. Those interested should use the northeast entrance (Door 21) off Pershing Boulevard near the skate park.
The event organizers
The FAFSA event is organized by several local educators and community organizations, according to the press release.
Higher Expectations and Building Our Future are two such organizations that have partnered to make this event happen.
Higher Expectations, a Racine-based nonprofit, aims to help students and those entering the workforce.
“For the past nine years, Higher Expectations has committed to using evidence-based and data-driven decision making to identify local best practices, align community efforts, and track progress on key outcomes from birth to successful employment,” the press release reads.
Building Our Future is a Kenosha-based organization. The group “believes in helping every child succeed in school and in life, regardless of race, zip code or circumstance,” according to the press release.
Racine Unified School District and Gateway Technical College are also credited as collaborators for this cross-county FAFSA event.
To learn more about RUSD, visit their website. To learn more about Gateway College, visit their website.
For questions about the FAFSA event, contact Elizabeth Erickson (Higher Expectations) at 262-501-4403 or by emailing elizabeth.erickson@career2cradle.org; Jonalee Kuhn (RUSD) at 262-631-7069 or by emailing jonalee.kuhn@rusd.org; Lee Colony (Gateway Technical College) at 262-564-2512 or by emailing colonyl@gtc.edu; or Lawrence Kirby (Building Our Future) by emailing lkirby@buildingourfuturekc.org.
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