NEW BLOOMFIELD - New Bloomfield High School will hold a financial aid night at 6 tonight in the high school library. A representative from William Woods University's admissions department will give a presentation and answer questions regarding financial aid and the government's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process.
Josephine Wislocki, a counselor at the high school, said the night is mostly for seniors and their parents but added that juniors and their parents are invited to attend as well.
Wislocki said she asks students to apply for colleges by Thanksgiving break. January, she said, is the time for students to submit their FAFSA applications.
"That's why I try to hold one (a financial aid night) in January," Wislocki said. "Parents usually have a lot of questions. Some of them have never been through the whole process before. The presenter takes time to explain the whole process and the meaning of Pell Grants, loans - all of it."
At a New Bloomfield Board of Education meeting this fall, high school administration updated the board on where the school's class of 2014 ended up in the fall. When the school followed up with students, it found that a majority of them were at either two-or four-year colleges.
Wislocki said she has seen an increase in the number of New Bloomfield students who go on to college after graduating rather than going straight into the work force.
The school's score in the college and career ready category of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Annual Performance Report has also gone up in recent years.
In 2014, the school's total score in the college and career ready category was 86.7 percent, compared to 46.7 percent the previous year. In the 2014 APR, the school received eight out of 10 possible points for post-secondary placement and 10 out of 10 points for advanced placement.
Superintendent David Tramel previously told the Fulton Sun that the drastic jump in the school's score from 46.7 to 86.7 percent in that category was partly due to how the district reported data from one year to the next. He added at the time that the district did show improvements it the college and career ready category.
The high school's financial aid night, which it holds once a year, will serve as an information session, Wislocki said, for students and their parents. She added that parents and students usually find the night beneficial.
For further assistance filling out the FAFSA, she encourages students to also attend a local FAFSA Frenzy - a program to assist students and families in completing the FAFSA. There will be a FAFSA Frenzy from 4:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at Fulton High School sponsored by William Woods and Westminster College.
Wislocki said she encourages New Bloomfield students and parents to come out to the school tonight to get all of their questions answered. She added that anyone from the public is welcome to attend the school's financial aid night as well.