Eastern Connecticut State University will host the second leg of the 2016 College Goal Sunday (CGS) Connecticut on Oct. 23. The information session takes place from 1–4 p.m. in Room 401 of Webb Hall and will focus on changes in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and process. The program will be staffed by volunteers from Eastern’s Financial Aid Office. The public is invited and admission is free.

The purpose of CGS is to assist students, especially first-generation students, in completing their FAFSA in a timely manner, so that they can apply for financial aid at their college of choice and increase their ability to receive maximum financial aid. The first leg of CGS was held at Eastern in January, for the 2016-17 FAFSA award year.In September 2015, President Barack Obama allowed the use of Prior-Prior Year (PPY) on the FAFSA. This action created a change in how and when students complete the FAFSA and was implemented so that the financial aid application process aligned more closely with the admission application process. To accommodate this earlier filing schedule of Oct. 1, the FAFSA will collect income information from a family’s two tax returns prior to the academic year for which the aid is intended, rather than just from the previous year.

“We are now able to use two years of prior tax information on the FAFSA, as opposed to one-year of information,” said Neville Brown, associate director of financial aid at Eastern and Eastern’s CGS site coordinator. “This change will also increase the accuracy of the FAFSA and give families an earlier and more accurate idea of their anticipated financial aid and college costs, and will certainly help us in our continuing effort to help students realize their college dreams. “We encourage all Eastern students to participate in this CGS activity, thus ensuring that their 2017-18 FAFSA is filed on time.”

For more information about CGS, visit http://www.collegegoalsundayct.org.