Financial advice free for Lynn parents of college-bound kids

LYNN – Parents from all Lynn public high schools will have three chances this school year to get free help navigating the mine field that is college financial aid, and the first chance comes Wednesday.”We’re really trying to make a concentrated effort to have all parents of all ethnicities and all backgrounds involved,” said Lynn English High School Guidance Counselor Matthew Wilkens. “And it’s for free.”Wednesday’s program is a Financial Aid Overview, which will be held in Classical High School auditorium from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Rich Biagiotti and Chris Fogarty of Personal Financial Management along Kelly Scimone and Alex Vasquez of Educational Talent Search will make the presentation in English.The presenters will essentially talk about the process of applying for school, finding a school that is right for each student, how to determine what parents can afford and how to find financial aid.On January 8, 2013 the same program will be delivered but this time in Spanish and it will held in Lynn English’s Auditorium from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Carmen Pineda of Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority will make the presentation.Wednesday, Jan. 9 is Free Application for Federal Student Aid Night (FAFSA), again at Lynn English Auditorium from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with Biagiotti and Fogarty and Scimone and Vasquez. This time presenters will walk parents through filling out the FAFSA form, known to be a tricky document.Wilkens is urging all parents of college-bound students to attend one or more of the presentations. He said figuring out the financial aid can be extremely tough and the free events are aimed at making things easier.”And for such a boring subject, Rich and Chris do a great job of keeping it light,” he said.Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].