Attendance is usualy between 50 and 70 families, said Mary Jo Schmidt who works at Mercantile Bank and helped coordinate the seminar. Schmidt said most forms take about one hour to fill out if the family has already done their taxes. Steve Loven has been working at the seminars for all 10 years. Loven said he advises families to take advantage of all available opportunities for help. Loven said high schools usually have financial aid nights that are useful.
Families can also visit financial aid offices at local colleges.
Also, the financial aid offices set up a hotline the night before the seminar. According to Loven, this year they got about 360 calls. Families seeking advice from area financial aid counselors are encouraged to bring in their W-2 forms and any other financial documents. The advisers will then tell them which questions need to be answered. Financial aid forms are due March 1 at most colleges.