As senior Madison Kozak finishes her final year of high school, she worries about how she will pay for college.   

Kozak said she plans to study linguistics at Minnesota State University Moorhead. She needs financial assistance, but she said the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) confounds her.

“I haven’t quite finished (the FAFSA), but so far it‘s been really complicated,” Kozak said. “It’s kind of inconvenient for me because I don’t have internet in my house and you need a parent to overlook it.”

Kozak said she wishes the school talked to students about the FAFSA earlier in high school.

“I think it would be more beneficial to inform the kids in junior year rather than senior year,” Kozak said. “I’m a senior, yet I still don’t know what to do.”

Senior counselor Heidi Cosgrove said the school will hold a night at the school to help families fill out the FAFSA.

“(The meeting) is where families can come and get help specifically when it comes to getting help for filling out their FAFSA,” Cosgrove said. “Now that families have received their tax information, they can now actually fill out the FAFSA. This is a help session for families that might need help on ‘what is this question about?’ or ‘how do I find an answer to the question?’”

Cosgrove said she believes the FAFSA meeting will help families fill out the FAFSA because it worked well in the past.

“I think this is either the second or third year. I think last year about 10 or 20 families came,” Cosgrove said. “If it helps just a couple families, it’s a success.”

Career and college coordinator Kara Mueller said the FAFSA exists as the only way students can receive federal financial aid.

“If they don’t do the FAFSA they won’t get access to financial aid,” Mueller said. “That’s how it works. Any type of grants, as in money you don’t have to pay back, or loans can only be applied for through FAFSA.”

Students and parents who need help applying for the FAFSA can get hands-on help from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in the Library Media Center.