Cash for College Workshops
The Financial Aid Office at Ventura College, and Ventura College East Campus host free Cash for College workshops each spring.
Ventura Campus
February 10 @ 9am - 12pm
March 9 @ 9am - 12pm
Library (LRC Bldg)
ASL Interpreter available 9–11 a.m.
Santa Paula Campus
February 24 @ 9am - 12pm
March 23 @ 9am - 12pm
Bilingual Financial Aid staff from Ventura College are ready to help you complete an access information on...
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- California Dream Act Application (CADAA) for the 2024-25 school year.
- Basic needs support (food and housing assistance), tutoring, academic counseling, mental health services, & other student services.
Campus De Ventura
10 de Febrero @ 9am - 12pm
9 de Marzo @ 9am - 12pm
Biblioteca (Edificio LRC)
Intérprete de Señas Americana disponible 9 a 11 a.m.
Campus De Santa Paula
24 de Febrero @ 9am - 12pm
23 de Marzo @ 9am - 12pm
El personal bilingue de ayuda financiera del Colegio de Ventura esta listo para ayudarlo a completar y acceder a la informacion sobre:
- Solicitud Gratuita de Ayuda Federal para Estudiantes (FAFSA)
- Solicitud de el Acta del Sueno de California (CADAA) para el ano escolar 2024-25
- Apoyo a las necesidades basicas (asistencia y de vivienda), tutoria, asesoramiento academico, servicios de salud mental y otros servicios estudiantiles.
Ventura College
Ventura College Learning Resource Center
4667 Telegraph Road, Ventura
Ventura College East Campus
Santa Paula
957 Faulkner Road, Unit 106, Santa Paula
For info: Contact the Ventura College and Ventura College East Campus Financial Aid Office at (805) 289-6369 or vcfinancialaid@vcccd.edu
At our Cash for College events, our Financial Aid experts will help you apply for free money to use for college. This is not a loan—it's free money that you can use for tuition, books, housing, transportation, childcare, computers, and more! Yes, there are low-interest loans and work-study funds available too, but much of what is awarded is not a loan.
Go to College—We'll pay for it!
Think you don't qualify? Let us help you find out! Working adults can apply. People just taking ONE class can apply. YOU can apply. Even if you have already paid for the current semester, you could get reimbursed. It takes less than one hour. Wouldn't it be great to find out that you've been awarded financial aid? That's not a bad way to spend your morning.
When you come to the event, be sure to be prepared with the below information.
What to Have During the Workshops:
- 2022 Student/Parent Tax Information
- 2022 Student/Parent W2
- 2022 Other income information for Student/Parents
- Social Security Numbers (or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - DACA number) for Student/Parents, if you have one
- Alien registration number (A#), if you have one
- Driver’s license, if you have one
“Federal student aid is just ‘free money’ like grants.”
Reality: Federal student aid includes three different kinds of financial help: grants, low-interest loans, and work-study funds (a part-time job on or near campus). To learn more about the different types of federal student aid, visit StudentAid.gov/types.
“My parents make too much money, so I won’t qualify for aid.”
Reality: There is no income cut-off to qualify for federal student aid. Many factors—such as the size of your family and your year in school—are taken into
account. Remember: when you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, you’re also automatically applying for funds from your state and possibly from your school as well. In fact, some schools won’t even consider you for any of their scholarships (including academic scholarships) until you’ve submitted a FAFSA form. Don’t make assumptions about what you’ll get—fill out the FAFSA form and find out.
“Only students with good grades get financial aid.”
Reality: While a high-grade point average will help a student get into a good school and may help with academic scholarships, most of the federal student aid programs do not take a student’s grades into consideration. Provided a student maintains Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in his or her program of study, federal student aid will help a student with an average academic record complete his or her education.
“I don’t have good credit, so I can’t get a student loan.”
Reality: You don’t need to get a credit check for most federal student loans (except for Direct PLUS Loans). Also, you won’t need a cosigner to get a federal student loan in most cases.
“My ethnicity or age makes me ineligible for federal student aid.”
Reality: There are basic eligibility requirements (which you can find at StudentAid.gov/eligibility), but ethnicity and age are not considered.
“My parents aren’t U.S. citizens, so there’s no way I’ll get aid.”
Reality: Your parents’ citizenship status is NOT a factor, and the FAFSA form won’t even ask you about it. If your parents don’t have Social Security numbers, they must enter 000-00-0000 when the FAFSA form asks for their Social Security numbers.
“The FAFSA® form takes forever to fill out, and it’s really hard to do.”
Reality: If you’ve got 30 minutes to spare, you’re good. That’s about how long it takes to fill out the FAFSA form. It’s also not nearly as hard as you might think.
“I support myself, so I don’t have to include parent information on the FAFSA® form.”
Reality: This is not necessarily true. Even if you support yourself and file taxes on your own, you may still be considered a dependent student for federal student aid purposes. If you are considered dependent, you must provide your parents’ information on the FAFSA form. The form asks a series of questions to determine your dependency status. You can preview the questions at StudentAid.gov/dependency.
“I can’t file my FAFSA® form in October because I haven’t applied to any schools.”
Reality: Actually, you can complete your FAFSA form before submitting any college or career school applications. You’ll need to list at least one school on your FAFSA form, but go ahead and add every school you're considering because some schools have early deadlines to apply for their limited funds. Later, you can add or delete schools on your FAFSA form.
“I’ll have to update my FAFSA® form after I file my taxes in the spring, won’t I?”
Reality: Nope! Just enter the tax information the form asks for—or better yet, transfer it directly from the Internal Revenue Service if you’re offered that option while applying—and you’re good to go. No need to update later. Remember: The FAFSA form asks for your and your parents’ tax information from the tax year that was two years prior to the start of the school year for which you’re applying for aid. For example, the 2018–19 FAFSA form asks for 2016 tax and income information, while the 2019–20 FAFSA form will ask for 2017 tax and income information.
“I didn’t qualify for financial aid last year, so filling out the FAFSA® form again is just a waste of time.”
Reality: It’s super important to fill out a FAFSA form every year you’re in college or career school. Why? Because things can change. For instance, your school or state might create a new grant or scholarship, or the factors used to calculate your aid could change from one year to the next. Either way, if you don’t submit a new FAFSA form, you’re out of luck.