Why contributing to your student's FAFSA or WASFA matters

Parents, do you know how important you are to your student’s future success? If your student is considered dependent on the FAFSA or WASFA, they need your information as a contributor to qualify for grants, scholarships, and work-study opportunities. Many schools require the FAFSA or WASFA to be completed before they offer additional gift aid to your student. We know this process can be a pain, but we are here to help! Book a 1-1 appointment with a member of the team or join us at a local completion event! Please enjoy this video created by FNW team members Regina Reid and Paige Holman to help you get excited. The end goal is incredible, and your student’s dreams truly rely on your support!

If that video didn’t pull at your heartstrings, perhaps these sobering statistics will. According to the Washington Roundtable’s Skill Up for Our Future Report, we are projected to have a skilled worker shortage in WA of 600,000 people and 1.5 million+ job openings by 2032. 75% of those opportunities will rely on students having a degree, apprenticeship, or high-value industry certification. Bachelor’s and advanced degrees will be in the highest demand and will be required for 45% of all job opportunities, not just those included in our skilled worker shortfall. These family-wage jobs have the potential to uplift multiple generations through education/training. Completing a Financial Aid application is critical to your student’s success in pursuing education after high school. “National research shows that 90% of students who complete a financial aid application attend college and that the main reason students do not complete one is they think it’s too complex or that they are not eligible for aid,” according to a Ready WA article. Given that completing a Financial Aid application is such a critical part of attaining education beyond high school, we hope you will support your student by doing your part and completing the parent contributor portion of the application. Check out our FAFSA/WASFA page for some additional resources to help you get started.

Are you considering going back to school too? FuturesNW would love to help you! As a non-traditional student myself, I got my bachelor’s degree in 2019 as a 39-year-old mom of 2, and I believe that you can do it too. Going back to school changed my life in profound ways. Before attending WWU, my husband and I were working 10 part-time jobs just to make ends meet. Neither of us had a bachelor’s degree and we were not eligible for family-wage jobs in our area because of it. My kids watched me work hard before and after my degree and we all agree that the hard work I am doing now is paying off. I now have 1 full-time job I love at FuturesNW that affords me time with my family and a living wage.

FuturesNW would love to help you and your student achieve your dreams by helping you complete your financial aid application and so much more!

-Ashley DeLatour, Executive Director of Programs

SCHOLARSHIPS & OPPORTUNITIES

Thanks GEAR Up!

Starting this week we will be sharing the weekly scholarship bulletin from GEAR Up on our blog! Check out this vetted list of scholarships and remember if you ever need help reviewing an essay or help understanding the requirement of these opportunities please reach out to me (Ashley) adelatour@futuresnw.org and I will connect you to someone who can support you funding your education. Thanks GEAR Up!

Find more opportunities at: https://gearup.wa.gov/resources/scholarships and our list of scholarship search engines and databases.

• #WeBelongInCollege. To apply, all you must do is create your own #WeBelongInCollege story, share on social media using their hashtag, and fill out their form. $1,000. Due Jun. 30.

• LEAP Ambassador. Have you thought about being a LEAP (Latino/a Educational Achievement Project) Ambassador? Here's your chance!! Apply for the 2020-2021 ambassador cohort.  Due Jul. 6.

• Complete Your Journey! Class of 2021 students who join now and get started by building their college list on BigFuture by Jul. 31 and completing the remaining steps will be eligible for the next $40,000 Complete Your Journey scholarship.

• Sea Mar Farmworker College Scholarship for High School Seniors & Graduates. Due Aug. 3.

• The SchoolHouse Connection Youth Leadership and Scholarship Program. Provides scholarships to youth who have experienced homelessness to ensure their completion of a post-secondary education program. Due Oct. 1.

• Find Big Money Scholarships for College. We're talking about tens of thousands of dollars in money!

Scholarship, Brief Description, Due date

AWG Minority Scholarship

For African American, Hispanic, and American Indian women. Must be full-time students pursuing an undergraduate degree in the geosciences (geology, geophysics, geochemistry, hydrology, meteorology, physical oceanography, planetary geology, or earth science education) at an accredited college or university.

6/30

Do-Over Scholarship

($1,500) - In 250 words or less submit a response to the question: "If you could get one 'do-over' in life, what would it be and why?"

6/30

Scholarship Poetry Contest - Fall Issue

Open to all U.S. HS students. Applicant must submit an original poem with 20 lines or less. Up to $500.

6/30

Accenture American Indian Scholarship

Must be an enrolled member of a U.S. federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native group, verified through submission of the AIGC Tribal Eligibility Certificate (TEC) form, demonstrate character and be seeking a degree and career in STEM or business.

7/5

ERCA Community Contribution Scholarship

($1,000-$5,000) - The application will take you a few minutes to complete. You will also be required to include a short essay. The essay topic is for you to describe a personal achievement story and how you overcame challenges to reach your goal. You can include any impact on your local community your achievement helped benefit.

Navigating through Whatcom Community College; tips and tricks on applying and Financial Aid

Interview with Francia Orozco, by Grace Boyer

Pieta de los Inmigrantes 2019
Francia Orozco

Francia is an artist and specializes in painting. Many of her inspirations come from her parents and her home country, San Pancho, Nayarit Mexico. Francia is also a first-generation college student and hopes to use her art as a platform of educational knowledge for social justice and equity within the United States. Francia is now a very close friend of mine, and I’m so happy I was able to interview her about her experiences at Whatcom Community College.

Francia started going to Whatcom three years ago, after doing one year of community college in near her hometown. Four years later, she is now wrapping up her degree at Western Washington University. She majored in Fine Arts with a minor in Educational Social Justice.

I wanted to start the interview with a general question to how her experiences went during her two years at Whatcom. Her first words were, “extremely rewarding”. If you are thinking about going to WCC, think no further. This is the place to be! Francia said that Whatcom made her feel valued and that her education was equally as important to them as it was to her. The application process? Seamless… The application can be found at Whatcom.edu.

“The application literally takes five minutes, and all you need are your official transcripts. Make sure to reach out to your high school advisors, or any other advisors if you took any college credits elsewhere before you apply. Ask for them early because sometimes they can take a bit to get to you. Other than that though, the application was the easiest one I’ve ever done.”

I asked Francia if she could share a bit about her class experiences she had at Whatcom.
“The professors at WCC really take the time to get to know you on a personal level. The class sizes are small, so you really get to know your professors as well. I had professors take time out of class to reach out to me on different projects I was working on, like my art. I felt that many of my professors really took the time to share their own personal experiences being a college student, and that was really helpful for me.”

I asked if she could share a bit about how she went through the process of enrolling in classes at WCC. “There are always open advising hours on campus. I would just go there and sign my name in and wait until someone was available to help me. I always felt that I was getting the best advice because they really sit down with you and go through all the different options you can take in order to fulfill your GURs- General University Requirements.” When I asked her if she had any tips to future students who are thinking about applying to WCC, or any other colleges, apprentices, or work study programs, this is what she said, “Don’t feel afraid to reach out and ask questions. This is your future, and you are paying for this! There are people there who are getting paid to help you… Might as well take advantage of the resources that are made available to you.”

Relating 2020
Francia Orozco

Next question: How did applying for Financial Aid go?
“This one was a little bit more tricky. Like I said, reach out to people who are there to help you with it! That would have been nice if I did that, hah. The application process is confusing if you have never done anything like that before. Which I think a lot of us haven’t. I wish I would have used the resources made available for me then because it would have made it less stressful. Always just call the Financial Aid office at the college you are applying to and see if there is anyone there that can help you right then, and if not, make an appointment! Again, they are there to help YOU.”

If you are considering applying to Whatcom Community College, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Futures Northwest Team. Different resources can be found at Futuresnw.org that can be helpful for navigating through college applications and Financial Aid. I hope that this interview is helpful to some of you and encourages you to take the next steps in finding success in your future.

If you have already enrolled or plan on enrolling for Fall 2020 and have had a change in Financial Circumstance, this PowerPoint Presentation guides you through how to make that adjustment at Whatcom Community College.