The FAFSA assesses eligibility for federal grants, loans, and work-study funds.Most colleges use FAFSA to award their own grant aid dollars.
As the Herrera family faced the possibility of becoming homeless, the fall semester at USC was moved online, which meant Monzerrat not only lost her home, but suddenly she had no way to attend college in this new virtual world. Incredibly, just days before classes were set to begin, one of the families that Monzerrat’s mother cleans for offered her family a place to live.
With so many implications of the pandemic—everything from food and housing insecurity to a widespread lack of technology access—today’s high school students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, are more at odds than ever with a college admission process notorious for its difficulty, even in “normal” times.