DENVER — For some seniors in high school, it can be hard enough to balance schoolwork, extracurriculars, a possible part-time job and relationships. All of that, plus plans for life after high school, can lead to additional stressors.
It doesn't help when the government has set back tens of thousands of students across the U.S. by delaying the rollout of FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
"I think everyone I’ve talked to is feeling pretty similarly," DSST Cedar High School senior Kahliya Mobley-Young said. "We’re all stressed out, we’re all anxious."
Mobley-Young said she always knew she wanted to go to college. Now, her biggest decision is deciding where to pursue a pre-med track.
"I’m looking to apply to CU Boulder, DU and CU Denver," Mobley-Young shared.
She said she's been working on preparing for college applications since her junior year. Nothing could have prepared her for the months of delays she would face when it came to apply for federal financial aid.
"It’s definitely been pretty confusing," Mobley-Young said. "I know the FAFSA is different this year than in years past so it’s been a bit harder to get help because everyone is pretty confused about what it’s supposed to be looking like. But it’s been really great to have so many resources to turn to for that."
Mobley-Young said she learned about a financial aid workshop with the Denver Scholarship Foundation through her school.
Saturday, she and a DSF campus advisor were able to work through some of the questions she had in regards to obtaining financial support for school, including the FAFSA.
"I really just got to make sure everything was done correctly, I’m not messing anything up and know what my next steps are," Mobley-Young said.
Mobley-Young was paired with MSU campus advisor Stephanie Melissa Saenz. She said as a first-generation college student who benefitted from financial aid, words can't describe how it feels to support students through similar situations.
"As a first gen college student myself, I really valued education early on in my life," Saenz said. "Just going into a space where I didn’t know how to experience it but knowing it was expected of me, I wanted to provide assistance."
She said she's been getting an influx of questions from high school students and even current college students about the FAFSA. She said there's been a lot of concerns about receiving aid in the midst of delays.
"They depend on this application so they’re, one, able to get aid from the school and, two, to be able to receive other institutional aid — either outside scholarships or scholarships from the university," Saenz explained.
Despite concerns, she said DSF is available to help those in need.
"Sometimes you just need someone to bridge those opportunities for you and that’s exactly what DSF shoots and strives to do," Saenz said.
Mobley-Young was one of eight students to sit down with a DSF representative during Saturday's workshop. DSF also worked with seven college students.
Monday, March 11, DSF will be hosting another free, financial aid session at the Capital One Cafe in Union Station.
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