May 11, 2018
CapitalPress.com
15
How to fill out all-important FAFSA application
U.S. Department of Education
The Free Application for
Federal Student Aid may
seem intimidating, but it’s
the only way students and
their parents can figure out
how much aid they can receive
from Uncle Sam.
Of course, other scholar-
ships are also available but
federal aid is often the main-
stay of a student’s financial aid
package.
Filling out the FAFSA form
can be a straightforward and
easy process. The fafsa.gov
site will guide you through the
application; click on the “Start
a New FAFSA” button on the
home page, and just follow the
directions on the screen. Be-
low are some tips to help you
along the way.
We strongly recommend
you create an FSA ID, a us-
ername and password combi-
nation that allows you to sign
your FAFSA form electroni-
cally.
Your FSA ID also can be
used to sign loan contracts and
to access certain information
online. While you can get your
FSA ID as you’re completing
the FAFSA form, getting it
ahead of time and using it to
begin your FAFSA form on
fafsa.gov cuts down on errors
and delays.
Important note: If you’re a
dependent student, one of your
parents whose information is
reported on the FAFSA form
will also need an FSA ID so
that he or she can sign your ap-
plication electronically.
Tip: Use your FSA ID to
start your FAFSA form.
When you create your FSA
ID, be careful to enter your
name and Social Security
number exactly as they appear
on your Social Security card.
Then, when you go to fafsa.
gov to start your application,
you will be given the option
to “Enter your (the student’s)
FSA ID” or to “Enter the stu-
dent’s information.”
If you log in with your
FSA ID, certain information
(including your name, Social
Security number, and date of
birth) will be automatically
loaded into your application.
This will prevent you from
running into a common error
that occurs when your verified
FSA ID information doesn’t
match the information on your
FAFSA form.
Additionally, you won’t
have to provide your FSA ID
again to sign your FAFSA
form electronically or to use
the Internal Revenue Service
Data Retrieval Tool if you’re
eligible.
The student is the one ap-
plying for financial aid, so be
sure it’s the student entering
his or her FSA ID where it
says “Enter your (the stu-
dent’s) FSA ID.” Do not start
the FAFSA form by supplying
the parent’s FSA ID.
Tip: Gather the docu-
ments needed to apply
The FAFSA questions ask
for information about you
(your name, date of birth, ad-
dress, etc.) and about your fi-
nancial situation. Depending
on your circumstances (for
instance, whether you’re a
U.S. citizen or what tax form
you used), you might need the
following information or doc-
uments as you fill out the ap-
plication:
• Your Social Security
number (it’s important that
you enter it correctly on the
FAFSA form).
• Your parents’ Social Se-
curity numbers if you are a de-
pendent student.
• Your driver’s license
number if you have one.
• Your Alien Registration
number if you are not a U.S.
citizen.
• Federal tax information or
tax returns including IRS W-2
information, for you (and your
spouse, if you are married),
and for your parents if you are
a dependent student.
• Records of your untaxed
income, such as child support
received, interest income, and
veterans non-education ben-
efits, for you, and for your
parents if you are a dependent
student.
• Information on cash; sav-
ings and checking account
balances; investments, includ-
ing stocks and bonds and real
estate (but not including the
home in which you live);
and business and farm assets
for you, and for your par-
ents if you are a dependent
student.
Keep these records. You
may need them again.
BMCC to offer veterinary tech program through
agreement with Colby Community College
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College students inter-
ested in a career as a Veter-
inary Technician now have
the pathway to do so thanks
to an articulation agreement
between BMCC and Colby
Community College in Colby,
Kansas.
BMCC currently offers a
one-year Veterinary Assistant
Certificate program and, as
part of the new FARM (Facil-
ity for Agricultural Resource
Management) facility on the
Pendleton campus, planned to
develop and launch a 2-year
Associate of Applied Sci-
ence Veterinary Technology
program. However, this is
a costly program to develop
— around $250,000 — as it
requires two full-time faculty
members, including a licensed
veterinarian.
BMCC chose to not launch
Blue Mountain Community
College offers programs in
veterinary technology.
its own program because of
the exorbitant costs.
However, due to student
and community interest in the
program, BMCC sought other
options. BMCC reached out
to Colby Community Col-
lege which has an approved
Distance Learning Veteri-
nary Technology program.
Through a recently-signed
Memorandum of Agreement
between BMCC and CCC,
students will complete prereq-
uisite coursework at BMCC
and then apply to continue
seamlessly to Colby’s Distance
Learning Vet Tech program.
Colby has a similar agree-
ment with Rhodes State Col-
lege in Ohio.
“Colby’s program is rigor-
ous and has excellent comple-
tion and job placement rates,”
said BMCC Vice President
of Instruction Mary Jeanne
Kuhar. “BMCC is excited to
embark on this wonderful part-
nership.”
Three veterinary clinics in
eastern Oregon have already
expressed interest in allowing
Vet Tech students to gain the
necessary hands-on skills at
their facilities as part of the
program. Students interested
in the Vet Tech Program should
visit www.bluecc.edu/vettech.
For details about CCC’s Vet
Tech program, please visit
www.colbycc.edu.
AgEd18-1/101
New wine studies degree at Linfield College
Linfield Staff
McMINNVILLE, Ore. —
As of 2016 winegrapes were
the ninth highest value and one
of the fastest growing agricul-
tural commodities in the state.
With over 1,000 vineyards
planted to more than 29,000
acres, the state produces nearly
90,000 tons of fruit that is made
into numerous styles of wine at
over 700 wineries. Nearly three
million cases of Oregon wine
were sold in 2016, with a direct
retail value of nearly $600 mil-
lion and indirect impacts esti-
mated at more than $3 billion.
Oregon currently ranks
third in number of wineries
and fourth in production in the
United States, with plenty po-
tential for further growth. With
this growth comes the need for
educated and trained personnel
in the vineyard, in the winery,
and within the overall business
of wine.
To address this need, Lin-
field College, which is ideally
situated in the heart of the Wil-
lamette Valley wine country, set
out to become the first institu-
tion in the country to offer an
undergraduate, interdisciplin-
ary degree in wine studies; and
to become a premier institution
for wine education, both for tra-
ditional 4-year, undergraduate
students, as well as wine indus-
try members and adult learners.
The college is now home
of the Grace & Ken Evenstad
Center for Wine Education, the
intersection of traditional ac-
ademic programming in wine
studies and all other wine-relat-
ed educational opportunities at
the college.
Linfield offers a Minor and
Major degree in Wine Stud-
ies that will prepare students
to become future leaders in
the wine industry through a
unique, interdisciplinary aca-
demic approach that incorpo-
rates the history, geography,
and environmental require-
ments to grow grapes, to the
processes to make, bottle, and
sell wine, to sensory evalua-
tion techniques and commu-
Linfield Staff Photo
Linfield students learning about viticulture at the Crawford Beck
Vineyard.
nication about wine. Both the
Minor and Major can be paired
with a diverse selection of oth-
er majors and minors along
with international exchanges
and internships, to enforce the
strong liberal arts tradition at
Linfield and prepare students
for dynamic careers in the
global wine industry.
For Linfield student Tia
Elder the program came along
at the right time. Elder says
that she “decided to go to Lin-
field because I liked the small
school, amazing study abroad
programs, small class sizes and
great professors, but ultimately
I decided on Linfield because
of the Wine Studies program.
Through the program I have
already met so many influen-
tial people in the industry, it
has also given me incredible
opportunities such as travel-
ing to Burgundy France, and
helped me find internships and
other wine-related volunteer
opportunities.”
Linfield’s connection to
the region’s wine industry has
grown over time. From host-
ing the International Pinot
Noir Celebration since 1987,
to hosting other international
conferences, workshops and
seminars, holding a popular
Wine Lecture Series, the Col-
lege has become increasing-
ly recognized as an engaged
partner with the Oregon wine
industry.
Furthermore, Linfield stu-
dents have also been engaged
with the wine industry through
a summer immersion program,
internships and research and
the development of the Wine
Studies major and minor will
only further these connections
and opportunities for Linfield
students.
The college is also the
home to the Oregon Wine His-
tory Archive (OWHA), which
is located at the Nicholson Li-
brary on campus and digitally
available at oregonwinehistor-
yarchive.org.
The OWHA is a one-of-a-
kind archive project which is
home to important documents,
artifacts, interviews and many
other historical digital and
physical items. The archive
chronicles a content-rich Or-
egon wine industry that is
rooted in stories of passionate
pioneers, and is the resource
center for past and ongoing
projects, including: undergrad-
uate research, documentary
films, academic writings, and
much more.
It is through the established
and evolving interdisciplinary,
wine-related programing at
Linfield that the Grace & Ken
Evenstad Center for Wine Ed-
ucation is increasingly meet-
ing the needs of stakeholders
in the wine industry and to be
a leading institution for Wine
Education globally.
For more information and
contact details, please visit:
linfield.edu/wine
AgEd18-1/106