For the 10th straight year, the Chamber is currently training hundreds of business and education volunteers to provide FREE financial aid assistance to thousands of Central Texas students and parents, but we need more volunteers!

If you would like to volunteer, please sign up for one of our training sessions HERE.

Once you complete the 1.5 hour training, you or your team can volunteer to help families file for financial aid at one of 22 Financial Aid Saturdays events hosted regionally by the Chamber. If 55% of Central Texas seniors -- or roughly 11,700 students -- file by March 31st, 2016, approximately $127 million will be awarded to our students. That’s roughly $11,000 per student, per year.

A few things to know about financial aid:

• Financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Many deadlines fall before March 31, 2016.
• There is no income limit tied to the FAFSA/TAFSA. The vast majority of applicants qualify for some form of grant, scholarship, work-study or low-interest loan award.
• Opting not to file could cost your family thousands more in college costs.

What it means for Central Texas

• Every year, federal and state governments provide over $100 billion in financial aid for college.
• Research shows that 80% of students who file for financial aid will actually enroll in college. So, if we want more students to go to college, we need to get them to file for financial aid first.

See more info about our direct-to-college enrollment goal here: DTC70 Achievement Plan.