Senior year is here and you know what that means: preparing for college.

Between figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life, what college to go to, and, most importantly, how to pay the crazy expenses of college, senior year can be stressful.

Kearsley is trying to relieve some of that stress by hosting a financial aid workshop on Thursday, Oct. 5.

This event will be hosted at the high school in the media center at 6 p.m.

At this workshop, parents and students will complete the Free Application For Student Aid, or FAFSA, form. Current seniors will fill out the 2018-2019 FAFSA from, which takes information from parents’ and students’ 2016 taxes.

Filling out the FAFSA form can get a little confusing, so staff members from Mott Community College’s Student Financial Services Office will attend the workshop to aid students and their parents.

Counselor Craig Golembiewski said students and families can benefit from the workshop.

“The ultimate goal is for seniors and their parents to fully complete and submit the 2018-19 FAFSA form,” Golembiewski said. “However, if students (and) families just get started on the FAFSA form and/or gain a better understanding of the FAFSA form, then the night will be a success.”

The FAFSA form will require personal information so the high school counseling department advises students and parents to know the following information:

• Your social security number (It’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA.)
• Your parents’ social security numbers if you are a dependent student.
• Your driver’s licence number if you have one.
• Your Alien Registration Number if you are not a U.S. citizen.
• Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information for you (and your spouse, if you are married), and for your parents if you are a dependent student.
• Records of your un-taxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans non-education benefits, for you, and for your parents, if you are dependent student.
• Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks, bonds, and real estate (not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents, if you are a dependent student.

This information comes from the Kearsley Counseling Department.

Golembiewski also advises parents and students to review the FAFSA website to familiarize themselves with the form before the workshop.