Category: Uncategorized

Read how Sydney Shankman reported this piece for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia student gives back after finding hope at cancer camp

While deciding what to write my AJC Everyday Heroes piece about, I knew I wanted to feature a University of Georgia student. I started by focusing on student organizations that directly impacted the greater Athens community. I recalled a classmate mentioning his training for Kesem and decided to investigate further. Kesem had recently posted profiles of its executive team for the 2024-2025 school year. I did not have to look far before I found Leah Banko. Her profile mentioned her 11 years as a camper and staff member for Kesem. Her dedication was precisely what I was looking for. Few other Kesem staff members had such deep ties to the organization. I contacted Banko and requested an interview, and I have never been met with such an enthusiastic reply. 

While preparing for the interview, I had to make sure I was balancing Banko’s personal story with Kesem’s work. This was also my first time approaching such a difficult topic, that of her father’s cancer. I wanted to understand the events that inspired her to continue at Kesem without pushing personal boundaries. Luckily, Banko was very willing to speak of her father’s illness and how it impacted her. I made sure to ease into the more personal questions rather than asking them right off the bat. I also made it clear that if she did not feel comfortable sharing specific details, she did not have to. Coming prepared with facts and information about Kesem made the interview go smoothly. Rather than Banko explaining the basics of Kesem, she could elaborate and add to the information I already knew. During the interview, I realized I would not have to work hard for the reader to understand Banko’s dedication. 

Keeping in contact with my source after the interview was a skill I heavily relied on. Banko provided me with the correct links for Kesem’s website and photos from her time as a camper. Whenever I had facts I wanted to check were accurate, I ran them by Banko. As a non-profit, Kesem relies on donations to keep its services free. Emphasizing the work that Kesem does and the importance of donations was a significant focus of my article. With it being published in the AJC, it would reach a large audience and bring awareness to the organization. Banko mentioned that Kesem’s most significant day for fundraising is Giving Tuesday, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. By sheer coincidence, the article was published in the print edition of the AJC on Giving Tuesday. 

I am incredibly proud of how the profile turned out. As a student new to journalism, I was very nervous about the entire process and had little idea of what to expect. Taking this assignment step by step and relying on other journalists helped me face my nerves. I was never afraid to ask my professor or Banko questions while writing.  After hearing Banko’s response to the article, I knew I had chosen the right person. She was extremely grateful for the coverage I had given Kesem. I feel very privileged to share the story of someone who is having a positive impact on my community. One of the greatest parts of being a journalist is discovering stories within your community and amplifying them for everyone to hear. 

Read how Ella Kroll reported this piece for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Produce, peanut stand owner collects donations to erase student lunch debt

I first heard about Michael Meaders directly through the AJC. He had previously been covered by other news outlets, and the AJC wanted a reporter to cover him for Everyday Heroes. His story hooked me, but I was initially a bit apprehensive to volunteer myself for the job, as I wasn’t sure when I would fit it into my schedule to drive to White County — about an hour north of Athens. It didn’t take long, though, for me to abandon those thoughts and jump at the chance to meet Meaders.

Finding him wasn’t all too straightforward – I combed through the other articles written about him and couldn’t find any contact information; then I searched for his phone number online, which was another dead end. Finally, I reached out to his son, BJ, on Facebook Messenger. BJ responded within the hour to let me know when and where I could find his father: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with coordinates of the produce stand’s location attached. 

When approaching the story, I not only had to think about how I was going to do it, but how I was going to do it differently. Meaders had already been profiled by Garden & Gun and 11Alive. Their reporting gave me some context as to what Meaders was doing in his community, but also made me nervous to cover someone who had already seen somewhat widespread news coverage, especially with me being a student reporter. 

I decided to go into the conversation like a blank slate and a first meeting I would have with any source: I asked him basic, context-setting questions, eventually getting deeper into what drives him and what his past looked like, all while customers visited periodically throughout our time together to buy things like tomatoes and apples. He introduced me to friends and cousins along the way, and through just sitting behind the stand with him for a couple hours, I got a feel for Meaders and his produce stand’s impact in the county. Not only are his monetary donations to the students highly impactful, but he and the produce stand provide a warm welcome and a friendly face to all who visit. Meaders, his family and his customers all showed me such kindness — and funny enough, he sent me home with a bag of apples and a bag of peanuts, similar to the kids in the anecdote I began the story with.

For the story, I also reached out to Jill Baughman with White County Schools to confirm the amount of money Meaders had donated over the years. What I found out talking to her was much more: Baughman had known Meaders all her life, and passionately testified to what a gift he was to their county. Her perspective gave the official school system take on the matter, but also such a glimpse into their tight community and how big of an impact Meaders has. In my individual interviews with Baughman and Meaders, both were moved to tears talking about the hardships the students face and the relief that Meaders’ donations have given them. It was an honor to take on this assignment, get to know such an inspiring person and be able to feature him in a series that perfectly sums up what he is: an everyday hero.

I am satisfied with how the story came out, especially because of my starting goal and the fact that we were able to make it distinct from previous coverage from other outlets. Meaders’ stand focused just as equally on produce as it did peanuts at the time I visited, and I wanted to show that balance in my profile. He is also no longer paying school lunch debt due to a community eligibility provision from USDA, and pivoted to paying miscellaneous student expenses like shoes and clothing. This was a necessary update that showed that even with his initial goal being taken care of, he still finds ways to serve his community. The data I found was necessary to add context to the large issue of child poverty in rural White County, and I tried to keep my writing as concise as possible while illustrating just how far Meaders’ donations reach. I am proud that it was one of the first profiles published in the Everyday Heroes series and one that made it to the paper, and I will carry this experience with me far into the future.

Read how Rachel Sandstrom reported these pieces for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 

Everyday Heroes: Georgia student helps kids, teens with tutoring and community connections

Everyday Heroes: UGA student helps create exciting holiday shopping day for kids

500 Athens-area kids receive holiday shopping spree with UGA mentors

Before I began writing each article I read, “Word Choice When Reporting on Inequality: A Conversation with Authors Venise Wagner and and Sally Lehrman,” in the Storytelling Tips section of the Covering Poverty website. From this, I learned just how important word choice is especially when you are covering a sensitive topic like disparity. As journalists we should steer away from labeling people because it can be dehumanizing. In all three of my articles, I tried my best not to label any particular person in need. I focused my stories on the impact these organizations have on the UGA and Athens community. 

When I began brainstorming who to profile for the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s special section, “Everyday Heroes,” I knew I wanted to feature students with a passion. Here’s a brief overview of my reporting process.

When Professor Lori Johnston recommended researching Kaimet Haile, executive director of Shop with a Bulldawg (SWAB), I jumped at the chance. I first looked at her LinkedIn page and noticed she was an accomplished student and heavily involved on campus and in the Athens community. I then browsed the SWAB website and gained a better picture of what exactly SWAB is. I found out it was an incredible organization completely run by students who are passionate about the children of Athens. That’s when I emailed Haile. 

In addition to Haile, I wrote another story on the chair of the board of directors of Equal Education for Athens, Lana Smith. I found out about EEA through my roommate, Hannah Hughes, who is an elementary education major. I then found Smith on the EEA website and immediately emailed her.

I set up a phone call with both students to give them a bit more insight on what my assignment entailed. They both were enthusiastic about the opportunity to be featured in the AJC and agreed to the story. 

First, I interviewed Haile with Shop With a Bulldawg at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. We talked for about 30 minutes and she told me about how she originally got involved in SWAB, what SWAB meant to her, and how SWAB impacts both the University of Georgia community and the Athens community. After our initial interview we had a few follow up conversations over the phone in order to complete the article. In addition to Haile, I also talked to Donna Elder, the executive director of federal programs for the Clarke County School District. Elder gave Haile glowing reviews and boasted about Haile’s skillful ability to run SWAB. She also told me about how much she loves SWAB and the joy event day brings to the children. I was also given the opportunity to cover SWAB’s event day this year for the AJC. I talked to all kinds of people on event day from UGA mentors to children participating in the event and parent volunteers. This allowed me to gain multiple perspectives which enabled me to produce a well researched story. 

I interviewed Smith, chair of the board of directors of Equal Education for Athens (EEA), outside the UGA Chapel on North Campus about a week after I interviewed Haile. We talked about how Smith originally got involved in EEA and how important the organization is to providing resource help to k-12 students in the Athens community. I also had a couple follow up conversations over the phone just like I did with Haile in order to complete the article. As well as Smith, I talked to Jaymie Bromfield, EEA’s nonprofit adviser. Bromfield talked Smith up and highlighted her passion for EEA. She also emphasized the organization’s ability to provide support to not just students but teachers and parents as well. 

By Niyati Patel

Like many young adults, Joshua Brumbach did not have a grasp on financial planning until he got to college. 

It was in college that Brumbach grew to understand the value of financial literacy after watching how the COVID-19 pandemic affected his parents’ small businesses. Now, having a budget and filing taxes are higher on his priority list.

“It kind of sparked something in me that thought, like, why does this happen,” Brumbach said. “How do people fail to plan for things like this, and how can people kind of come back from an event like this?”

Handling income taxes can be a tricky and expensive process. University of Georgia’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program provides free tax preparation to its students and people across Georgia with a goal of enhancing financial literacy. 

Brumbach, a student in the financial planning master’s program, works as a financial planning graduate assistant for VITA. His role includes research, behind-the-scenes operations and preparing Internal Revenue Service grant approvals and proposals. 

“Being able to actually sit in front of real life people and help them with their money while in school — it’s been a really great opportunity,” he said. 

How VITA works

Tax season, which generally occurs between Jan. 1 and April 15, is the period of time when taxpayers report to the IRS their financial statements and tax returns from the previous year, according to the IRS. It is during this time that VITA runs their tax preparation sessions throughout the country. 

That is where Brumbach comes in. 

The VITA team at UGA is made up of students and faculty of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Their mission, Brumbach said, is to bolster the financial health of the Athens community and across Georgia by making a complicated process easier. 

Preparers and managers like Brumbach typically see between six and 12 clients per day, Monday through Friday. Although specifically geared to low to moderate income families, the program is open to anyone and has a wide client range, from students to faculty to residents of Athens-Clarke County.

“It provides a free service for a lot of people who otherwise would have to pay quite a lot out of the refund to get their taxes done,” he said. 

The process consists of two steps. Clients first make an appointment online or walk-in to the VITA office with their ID, social security card, banking information and tax forms. They are then matched with a preparer who inputs the client’s information into the TaxSlayer Pro software. 

The end result is Form 1040, or the individual income tax form that is reviewed by the managers and submitted to the IRS. 

If the taxes are done incorrectly, filers could be arrested or audited by the IRS, which is why VITA site coordinator Jennifer Short said quality reviews are instrumental. 

“And so, we are really, really passionate about getting taxes done but also getting them done correctly,” Short said. 

Through the work of 66 student preparers and 18 student managers, there were 1,619 tax returns prepared in 2023, making it VITA’s most efficient year according to their 2023 Impact Report. 

VITA by the numbers

VITA’s impact spreads beyond Athens, reaching 94 counties in Georgia, many of which are rural, low-wealth areas such as Burke County and Banks County. 

The Cooperative Extension process pairs community members with an extension agent who meets with them virtually. These agents prepare tax returns “correctly and professionally” and free of charge, typically saving clients around $300 in tax-related fees, according to the 2023 Impact Report. 

VITA program manager Wil Golden worked as an extension agent at Auburn University before moving to UGA. He now manages the day-to-day operations, passing his 15 years of program insight on to students like Brumbach and Short. 

“Don’t be scared,” Golden said. “A good tax preparer will walk you through everything, and you’ll be comfortable with it, I think.”

An aspect of tax returns that often goes unclaimed is Earned Income Tax Credit, or a tax break for qualifying filers that come from low-income backgrounds. Five to $10 million dollars of EITC goes unclaimed every year in Athens-Clarke County alone, Golden said. 

Through their services, however, the service was able to increase their numbers in 2023: 154 returns claiming EITC, $212,028 EITC claimed, $647,600 fees saved and an $3,178,752 economic impact. 

“I want people to feel a little bit less of that financial stress,” Short said. “I want them to feel like they really did something and feel productive.”

The benefits of VITA

The benefit of this type of program, Golden said, is the mutualistic relationship between clients and preparers. At the end of the process, both parties can be more financially literate. 

 From a student’s perspective, Brumbach said he thinks the service gives him a glimpse of what income taxes look like in real life. 

“There is no charge, so you know, help a student, and help us prepare tax returns for you and give the student the experiences working one on one with the client on real tax issues,” Golden said. 

Tax literacy also goes beyond the personal benefits of the preparer and client, reaching even a local, state and national scale. 

“So I mean, look at it as not being fearful, but look at it as ‘I’m doing my duty,’ if you will,” Golden said. “Because those tax dollars are going to, you know, services and roads, bridges and you know, don’t be fearful.” 

UGA VITA is a small portion of a bigger picture surrounding tax returns, and students like Brumbach are a part of spreading financial literacy and awareness to young adults on a college campus.

“So if it’s something that really stresses you out, and you don’t really know how to handle your taxes, then I just want as many people as possible to know that we’re a resource on campus for them,” Brumbach said. 

Niyati Patel is a journalism student at the University of Georgia.

By Nicole Collier

When it comes to affording health care while in college, uninsured students struggle the most. While the proportion of uninsured students visiting the University of Georgia Health Center hover around 1%, Steven Rose, marketing and communication manager at the UHC said, those students still have options when it comes to affording health care. 

“No student should let an inability to pay be a reason not to seek medical care or mental health help when needed,” Rose said in an email.

For UGA students, insurance is not needed to see a doctor. Students who need to seek medical care without the ability to pay have resources that are available to them. 

There is access to funding at the health center that “can be used to offset, or in some cases, eliminate those costs,” Rose said. No documentation is required to prove that you do not have insurance, but students must report the funding they receive for financial aid purposes, according to Rose. 

Health insurance policies are available through UGA Human Resources. Student Care and Outreach also has options for funding for students. 

Students may access the primary care clinic, the gynecology clinic, and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) with no out-of-pocket cost to the student, Rose said. A health fee is mandatory for most students and is paid with tuition each semester. In 2022, the health fee was $206 per semester.

“There may be other fees associated with office visits for things like diagnostic testing or prescriptions for medication, but we can file insurance for those. There are very few students who come to us without insurance (only about 1% of patients have no insurance),” said Rose.

SCO works with the Office of Student Financial Aid to determine a student’s Cost of Attendance (COA), which includes estimates of tuition and fees, housing, food, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses. Funding can be provided for medical bills, medications or other health-related costs, and mental health care, according to the website. 

Students may also get their flu vaccine at no cost. 

“Students have been able to walk up to any of the almost 80 mobile clinics around campus, get a flu shot in less than five minutes, and continue on with their day with no appointment needed and at no cost to them,” said Rose.

For students in Athens who do not go to UGA, several options are available. St. Mary’s Health Care System has charity care programs available and its staff can help anyone apply for government assistance if they qualify. In Athens, Community Internal Medicine of Athens provides a 50% discount for patients. 

CIMA services are provided through St. Mary’s and the AU/UGA Internal Medicine Residency Program. Also, Mercy Health Center provides free care and Athens Neighborhood Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center.

“If you are uninsured but do not qualify for assistance, you should be aware that the least expensive choice for care is a primary care physician, followed by urgent care. But students should also look into options for insurance coverage,” said Mark Ralston, public relations manager at St. Mary’s Health Care System in an email. 

Affordable insurance is available through Healthcare Marketplace at Healthcare.gov. There are also resources available at Piedmont Athens Regional. Several options are available for non-emergency services as well as emergency services. If you are outside of Athens, look for a Federally Qualified Health Center near you. 

A student may find themselves in an emergency situation but do not seek care due to financial reasons. That can be extremely dangerous and only complicate your situation further, said Ralston. Students should be aware that the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act states hospitals that offer emergency services must care for any person, regardless of their ability to pay. Suffering in silence due to financial reasons will only endanger your health more. 

Luke Smith, a student who used to be without health insurance, waited four days with worsening abdominal pain before he sought medical care. He ended up needing  to have his appendix removed. 

“The money side of things definitely influenced the decision to wait and make sure that it wasn’t something else,” Smith said. 

If he waited any longer, the possibility of his appendix rupturing increased significantly, Smith said. Smith was able to get his emergency hospital bill completely covered by writing to the hospital explaining his circumstances. 

He had his grandmother help him write a letter demonstrating his hardships. He explained he was not working, he was a student, and his parents were not in a position to pay his bill either. 

They ended up writing back and eventually took care of the whole bill which Smith described as being “really helpful.”

“I think most people don’t even know to even reach out like that. They just start paying or try to figure out a way to pay,” Smith said. “I mean you should always at least try to write them a letter and explain your situation. I know in situations where it’s a planned procedure, it’s different, but if you’re in the situation where it’s like an emergency, at least in my experience, it worked out pretty well.” 

The resources above are options available to students who do not have the means to pay a hospital or doctor’s bill. There are financial aid offices located in each medical facility that might be able to assist and offer resources to students with financial hardship. 

Regardless, Ralston said, financial limitations are not worth your life.

“Do not risk your life over concerns about cost,” said Ralston.

Nicole Collier is a journalism student at the University of Georgia.

By Molly Langdon

College students frequently search for hands-on experience to build upon their classroom foundations, especially in this competitive job market. Students that face financial difficulties, however, can struggle when given an opportunity to gain experience because it is challenging to afford or justify. From unpaid internships to study abroad trips, it is clear that experiential learning comes at a cost. 

Some benefits of studying abroad, according to the Journal of International Education Research,  include “increased multicultural awareness, greater foreign language proficiency, better professional and personal development, and better academic performance.” The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that “internship experience is often the deciding factor when employers are evaluating two otherwise equivalent candidates.” These experiences are becoming a necessity, and their accessibility can vary between students of different backgrounds. 

Wanting to stand out to employers almost requires that students find experience outside of the classroom to speak to in interviews and display on their resume. As of August 2023, Education Data reported $1.766 trillion in student loan debt in the United States. 

Students struggling to afford college tuition may not be able to afford experiential learning experiences without scholarships or compensation, and unpaid internships and expensive study abroad programs can create further unease as students think about meeting future employment qualifications. 

Experiential learning encompasses “something that is going to contribute to your career long-term outside of the classroom,” according to Kyle Chiu, student employment manager at the University of Georgia, who works with students to secure internships while in school and help employers market their job opportunities. 

“Companies that can afford it are getting on board with the paid internships,” Chiu said. 

2023 NACE research suggests that many smaller businesses or nonprofit organizations tend to offer unpaid internships, and Chiu attributes this to either an inability to pay each worker or not receiving financial grant funding. 

“Obviously, in a perfect world we’d have all of them be paid,” Chiu said. He added that a lot of businesses still want to see what type of talent they can get unpaid since unpaid internships have been around for a long time, and will probably be around forever.

“Not compensating interns communicates to them and their organizational colleagues that their contributions are somehow less valuable than the work of paid interns,” according to NACE, and contributes to a disparity in student experiential learning by favoring those who can afford to work without compensation. 

Chiu notes that the Office of Experiential Learning at UGA offers some support for these unpaid experiences through scholarships that help pay for a portion of living costs. The office also offers a Suit Up Scholarship, which aids students needing or seeking business professional clothing by giving them a budget for it. 

The  Journal of International Education Research states that a notable objective for study abroad students is “learning and gaining proficiency in a foreign language,” usually picking a place that can best enable their language improvement and cultural understanding. 

Mary Harrison, fourth-year UGA student, chose to study abroad in Valencia, Spain to improve her Spanish skills and immerse herself in Spanish culture. Harrison always knew she wanted to study abroad while in undergraduate and applied to several UGA study abroad scholarships after finding the program that fit her goals. 

“There were definitely some financial stress stressors at one point, but I got all the scholarships,” she said. Harrison used her in-state Zell Miller Scholarship, and UGA’s experiential learning and Office of Global Engagement general scholarships to cover the program cost and other fees such as passport and visa expenses. 

Receiving the UGA Morehead Honors International Scholars program scholarship helped Harrison “travel to other places and fully experience a culture and food,” she said. 

Jordan Holmes, global education advisor at UGA, helps students find scholarships and programs in their budget. UGA students can schedule study abroad advising appointments and tell advisors of their interests or concerns regarding going abroad.

Holmes said she advises students on how they can use their existing tuition scholarships for study abroad and shares information regarding UGA and external scholarship funds. The Office of Global Engagement hosts scholarship info sessions during the school year, providing details on specific scholarship application requirements. 

An external, non-UGA, scholarship for study abroad offered that is need-based is the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a national fund for students who are Pell Grant-eligible. Holmes said there are many others offered based on both need and merit listed on the Office of Global Engagement website’s scholarship search. 

Harrison learned how individual financial situations differed while traveling abroad in groups with other students. Her roommate, a business major at UGA, used a spreadsheet for budgeting while on the program, which Harrison said taught her more about how to manage money and plan. 

“Just knowing how to handle money and what’s worth spending stuff on,” Harrison said contributed to her experience and her better understanding of finances. 

Harrison’s study abroad program group shared everyone’s financial burdens by “creating a balance” and picking “a place that works for everyone,” she said.

“I feel like it also helped me understand a little bit because most people just don’t really talk about how much money they have, or like, what they’re able to afford and stuff,” Harrison said about her return to America after being abroad in Valencia, Spain.

Students and their families’ financial constraints, according to Journal of International Education Research, are a major factor of the popularity of short-term programs, which are less expensive than longer programs. Holmes added that all UGA programs include a cost breakdown in the program brochure, showing tuition and program fees as well as airfare, passport, personal spending costs and other incidentals.

Navigating scholarships and compensation for opportunities that advance a student’s skills and marketability remains a challenge, but understanding the resources available can help students make decisions and find valuable and affordable experience. 

Molly Langdon is a journalism student at the University of Georgia.

By Kendall Kelly

For many high school seniors, they are flooded with paperwork. From writing personal essays for the Common Application portal, scholarship applications, letters of recommendation and submitting test scores, it all can feel foreign. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is typically no exception. 

Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is extensive, with many questions, from self-identification to specific tax information. Providing accurate information can seem daunting, as a lot of financial terminology can be unfamiliar to high schoolers. For so many students, the college decision-making process depends on the financial aid they receive.

However, new changes to the FAFSA form aim to simplify the process for students and families. The implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act began in 2021 and the final phase of changes will be seen in the 2024-2025 academic year. The FAFSA form now aims to be streamlined, reducing the number of questions from 108 to 40. 

The FAFSA is an online form that determines eligibility for federal student aid like federal grants, work-study funds and loans. Universities can also use the information from the form to determine if a student is eligible for state and school aid. Many independent scholarships require proof that a student has filled out the form as well. 

According to the National College Attainment Network, students who submit the FAFSA form are 84% more likely to enroll in postsecondary education. For those in the lowest socioeconomic quintile, it correlates with a 127% increase in immediate college enrollment. 

Many students are unaware of the reasoning behind filling out FAFSA, it is just one of the many pieces of the college application process.

“I feel like it took me a long time to fill it out, trying to figure out everything,” Grayson Jarman, third-year biology major said. 

Brenda Vaughn, outreach representative for Georgia Student Finance Committee, said she is excited to see the changes brought with the new form and how it expands aid for students. 

“In the convoluted world of trying to figure out how to pay for college, it’s just one simple form, I’ll say one form. And over the years, they have been trying to make it easier, easier to complete, easier for people who need aid to get aid,” Vaughn said. 

Madison Hamel, a senior entertainment and media studies student at the University of Georgia, filled out the FAFSA form prior to her first year of college. Since then, she has not filled it out again. With divorced parents, she found difficulty navigating questions regarding parental income and support. 

“I didn’t really know whose information they wanted more, like my mom’s or my dad’s. That is the most difficult part I would say,” Hamel said.

For students with nontraditional circumstances, the prior FAFSA form may have been an obstacle in the goal of higher education. Now, the FAFSA defines a custodial parent as the individual who provides the most financial support for the student. Additionally, even if a student or student’s family do not file taxes, they are still eligible to fill out the FAFSA and receive aid.

“There are many reasons why families may not file tax returns…There are parents that don’t make that much money. And so then, there are parents who are already retired, that don’t have that income. There are parents in disability that don’t have that income,” Vaughn said.

In 2022, students left about $3.6 billion in Pell Grants on the table, simply by not filling out FAFSA, according to the National College Attainment Network. Pell Grants are awarded to undergraduate students displaying exceptional financial need. Unlike federal loans, they do not need to be repaid. The new Student Aid Index calculation aims to expand Pell eligibility. 

The Student Aid Index calculation (SAI) replaces the previous Expected Family Contribution (EFC) score. The SAI determines what federal aid a student qualifies for. The formula conducts a need-based analysis, factoring in taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits received, such as unemployment or Social Security. A notable change is that the SAI no longer takes into account how many students a family has in college at that given point in time. A common misconception with the previous EFC score is that it equates with the amount a family is responsible for. Now, SAI is a calculation of the amount of need-based financial aid a student is eligible to receive. 

In Vaughn’s role at Georgia Student Finance Commission, she serves 22 counties in the state of Georgia. She works alongside seven other representatives who aim to be a resource to students in the state. With their knowledge of the financial aid process, they present workshops and host FAFSA completion events for both private and public schools. 

Financial literacy is oftentimes an obstacle in completing the form. For students and families, terms like net worth or assets may be difficult to understand and quantify. Undocumented students and homeless students face barriers with the FAFSA form. With non-permanent addresses and a lack of proper identification, FAFSA can feel impossible. However, there are local resources available to help complete it. 

Vaughn encourages all students to file the FAFSA, especially for their first years in post-secondary education. With the expansion of Pell eligibility, aid may be available to more people than in previous years. 

“Big thing, do not ever pay anybody to do this, to get any of this help. And if anyone needs help, feel free to come to GAFutures and look up the rep. Go to the financial aid office at any institution, even if it is not one you’re attending… Also, you can go to your guidance counselor at a high school to get some help…There are a lot of organizations around, that are to help with this process,” Vaughn said.

The FAFSA form will become available beginning Jan. 1. To be considered for federal aid, the form must be submitted before June 30. Deadlines for priority aid vary in each state. 

Kendall Kelly is a journalism student at the University of Georgia.