SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- There are about half a million high school seniors in California and a surprising number of them are missing out on free money for college by failing to apply for financial aid.
Dona Hinchliff, a high school counselor, says, "Cal Grant and the FAFSA, two pieces of paper that are imperative for financial aid."
But a new study by a Bay Area education advocacy group shows just over half of California high school seniors are completing those forms.
"They just don't understand how important it is until they're standing in the line to register for school and then they find out oops, I didn't fill those forms, I'm not going to get money, I have to pay for everything," says Hinchliff.
Students failing to submit the forms are leaving millions of dollars on the table.
Hinchliff says,"The Cal Grants, I'm showing for Cal State's, $5970 per year, for the UC's, $12, 192 a year and independent schools, $9084 a year."
It's free money with no strings attached.
High school senior Esteban Vargas says, "it's money you can use it towards tuition fees and all the books that you need, so it's a big help with to pay for all the stuff you need for college."
When you consider just how quick and easy the forms can be filled out, there's almost no excuse for any student wanting to continue their education for not completing them.
Vargas tells Central Coast News, "The process is really easy. The CalGrant I finished in about a minute, maybe two. The FAFSA took me about an hour with my parent's tax information."
Why then is something so easy, so hard to do?
Hinchliff says, "They get busy, they forget, there's just a multitude of reasons that we hear. We need to continue to try harder to get that word out and the importance of the CalGrant and the FAFSA."
This year's deadline was Monday, March 4.
FAFSA and "Cal Grant" forms are for any student in higher education. They can also be used for students attending business schools, art schools, technical schools-- not just universities and colleges.
