Financial Aid hosted an awareness fair Thursday, March 23.

It was a opportunity for students to get help if they needed it and get informed.

This was for students to check in and get all of the financial aid done on time so they have everything ready for the fall semester.

There were stations set up with games to make things easier and fun for students.

The first station was for the students to check their “To-Do List,” and if they had any forms that needed to be submitted they provided the forms in the spot.

In the second station students were being informed on the due dates to turn in the forms, which is Sunday, April 30.

Basketball hoops were set and all students had to do was shoot the ball in the right hoop and if they choose April 30 they won a highlighter.

The third station was the information table, where flyers with important information were provided along with some goodies.

Important Dates for Financial Aid:

• Apply now for FAFSA
• Cal Grant Deadline- Submit GPA Verification Form by March 2
• Early Application Deadline- Submit all forms by April 30
• Last Day to Submit FAFSA- June 30
• 2017-2018 FAFSA- Apply starting Sunday, Oct. 1

Once students were done with the stations food and snacks were provided.

There was also an opportunity for students to sign up for a scholarship giveaway.

Marvin Perez, student affairs technician, said, “After you participate in the second station, we have information about scholarship giveaway for those students who are interested in getting a scholarship they will be able to sign up” said

To qualify for the scholarship you must apply for financial aid and submit all your forms by April 30. Once that is complete you will placed in the drawing for a chance to win one of the four scholarships, worth $250.

Ulysses Valencia, coordinator, said, “FAFSA was available Saturday, Oct 1. Now, we loaded our applications’ earlier so now students have more time and if they do them by April 30, it guarantees their files will be done by the time school starts”

“There’s been very good improvements and these fairs are also helpful because we notice once we do the fair the traffic in the office increases a lot so a lot of students are getting aware of what they need to do to complete their financial aid, it’s kind of hard for students to be successful in school if they don’t have the money,”Valencia said.

The next FAFSA Workshop will be Monday, April 3 from 2-4 p.m.

For any questions visit the Financial Aid office and save time and skip the long line using the online check-in system:

1. Get the App

2. Text “Cerritos College” to 562-375-4979

3. Go online www.cerritos.edu/finaid