As part of the annual College Goal Sunday, MTSU financial-aid officials have agreed to run a pilot program to help families prepare the federal student-aid application on their own in early January.

College Goal Sunday at MTSU will be Sunday, Dec. 4, from 2 until 4:30 p.m. in the south lobby of the Business and Aerospace Building.

Tennessee’s 30-plus other College Goal Sunday sites—including Nashville, Lebanon, Lynchburg, Clarksville, Cookeville, Columbia, McMinnville and Gallatin in the Midstate—will be held in January or February.

Families can submit information online via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, to Federal Student Aid in the U.S. Department of Education to see how much aid prospective students might need beyond high school.

“MTSU’s College Goal Sunday FAFSA Prep Workshop will assist prospective college students in preparing to apply for financial aid in early January in order to qualify for federal grants and loans, state grants and the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship,” said Bonnie McCarty, assistant director of scholarships in the Scholarships Office.

McCarty said many types of need-based aid, including a state grant of $1,000 to $4,000 per year, have very limited funding. Therefore, students are encouraged to file a FAFSA in early to mid-January.

Funds for 2011-12 ran out in early February 2011, she said.

“MTSU’s FAFSA Prep Workshop will allow students to receive free assistance in preparing to file the FAFSA independently on Jan. 1, 2012, when the 2012-13 FAFSA first becomes available,” McCarty said.

The workshop is a 2½-hour series of sessions and not a drop-in event, she added.

For more information, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/financial-aid/, call McCarty at 615-898-8414 or email BonnieMccarty@mtsu.edu.

For other CGS locations, visit http://tn.gov/CollegeGoalSunday/locations.html.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)