The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, open Thursday, Oct. 1. This program makes financial aid available to students through any two- or four-year college or trade school in the country.

For students interested in applying but unsure how to begin, Emily Nichols, the college and career counselor, has set up a Virtual Financial Aid Night on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

There will be two sessions during this event: Financial Planning (6 p.m.) and Financial Aid Overview, offered in both English and Spanish (6:30 p.m.).

Registration closes on Monday, Sept. 28 for this event, and the link to sign up is here.

For those not planning to attend this meeting, here are the first few steps for the FAFSA:

• Create an FSA ID here (can be done before FAFSA opens)
• Have your income tax returns from 2019 on hand
• Begin your FAFSA  here

This application is open to everyone that is a U.S. citizen. However, any non-citizen can still complete the TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid). More information on the TASFA can be found here.

For questions or concerns about the FAFSA process, visit Emily Nichols’s page here.