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Essay On FAFSA

1423 Words6 Pages

“What exactly is a FAFSA? Does it just magically pay for my college?”

“Why are you spending so much time writing essays that aren’t for school?”

“What exactly is our “expected family contribution? What does the whole family have to do with you paying for college?”

All of the above questions and many more are just some of the ones that I have been asked by my mom as my parent during the journey that I took during my senior year of high school when I began preparing for college. Now, these are not exactly questions that I originally knew the answers to off the top of my head when I began, and they are not ones that my mom knew either. Luckily, through diligent work, research, and consulting with others who work to help students like me pursue higher education, I was able to find the answers to set me on the path to pursue my college degree?

Why was this such a challenge you ask? Well, I am what is known as a first generation student, as in, neither of my parents completed …show more content…

Since I am first generation, obviously my mom did not attend college, so she is not directly able to emphasize with me over all of the challenges that college throws at me like the parents of many of my fellow students. She will always be there for me no matter what, but it just is not the same as having a parent who knows exactly what it is like having completed college themselves. Fortunately, my mom isn’t the only one who supports me in my college endeavors, I have friends, fellow students, and other supportive adults on this journey with me emphasize with me specifically about things like finals and picking classes that are only a phone call, message, or visit

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