College preparation is likely a trending topic among high school seniors at this point in the academic year.
It is also one of the reasons why the City of Greenville partnered with the non-profit college access organization Get2College once again to assist students with the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) via a drive-thru event on Thursday.
With three main offices located in Southaven, Jackson and Ocean Springs, Get2College has several associates and team members who work with high schools across the state.
Tori Holloway, assistant director of outreach for Get2College, said some of the schools, such as those in Greenville and surrounding areas, may not be near the centers and is why a team of Get2College workers such as herself travel to those schools.
She noted Get2College FAFSA assistance events are held in communities that have partnered with the organization and Mayor Errick Simmons has maintained that partnership for several years now.
“We’ve been to Madison Palmer in Marks, Mississippi, and we’ve held one in Meridian so far,” Holloway said. “COVID obviously has made things a little bit different where normally we’d be going into high schools presenting to large groups of high school students and saying, ‘Ok these are the steps you need to take to be ready for college — applications, financial aid, all of those things.’”
She said with everything being done virtually, technology issues are something both public and private high schools are facing, even the volunteers when trying to assist students.
“Our main goal is to help students prepare, plan and pay for college and one of the big pieces of that is helping them to do the FAFSA and that’s what we’re doing we’re here — offering help doing the FAFSA application and there’s also money from the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid for students going to college in Mississippi,” Holloway highlighted.
She also pointed out the fact that FAFSA completion across the country has been down because of COVID.
Normally, Get2College’s percentage of FAFSA completions is fairly high because of the counselors, teachers and educators working as the “boots on the ground” to get applications done.
However, according to Holloway, every high school across the board has been down as it relates to FAFSA completion.
“So that’s why we’re trying to do things like this and meet people and let them know, ‘You don’t even have to get out of your car,’” she added. This is a huge piece and huge indicator for whether a student is going to go to college.”
FAFSA completions via Zoom is another route Get2College has been taking to assist students.
“However we can do it,” Holloway said on assisting with FAFSA applications. “If they’re not getting that done, what other barriers are there in place for them going to college? So, if we can help them do this, then maybe they can go and be successful there.”
