FORECAST. DEIRDRE, BACK TO YOU. DEIRDRE: THANKS, EILEEN. MORE THAN $3 BILLION IN FINANCIAL AID WERE AWARDED TO COLLEGE STUDENTS ACROSS CALIFORNIA LAST YEAR. NOW APPLICATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF FEDERAL FUNDING AND IT'S REQURIED FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS TO APPLY. JOINING US THIS MORNING TO DISCUSS THE FAFSA AND CALIFORNIA DREAM ACT APPLICATIONS IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE CALIFORNIA STUDENT AID COMMISSION, MARLENE GARCIA. THANKS FOR JOINING US. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. DEIRDRE: THIS IS A BIG CHANGE HAVING EVERY KID, WHETHER OR NOT THEY THINK THEY'RE ELIGIBLE OF GETTING ANY OF THIS FINANCIAL AID, EVERYBODY'S FILLING OUT THE PAPERWORK. WHY IS THIS SUCH A GAME CHANGER? >> IT'S A GAME CHANGER BECAUSE IT SAYS TO EVERY STUDENT YOU ARE COLLEGE MATERIAL, AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA BELIEVES IN YOU AND IS INVESTING IN YOU. NOW, EVERY STUDENT DOES HAVE THE OPTION OF OPTING OUT OF THE PROGRAM, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO CONVEY TO ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE CONSIDER ALL YOUR OPTIONS, BECAUSE IT'S A FOUR-YEAR UNIVERSITY OR A COLLEGE OR TECHNICAL SCHOOL. SO THERE'S OPTIONS FOR EVERYONE. DEIRDRE: I LIKE, TOO, IT ALSO LETS KIDS KNOW, HEY, YOUR SITUATION COULD CHANGE. WITH PEOPLE WORRIED ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND WITH LIFE IN GENERAL, YOU NEVER KNOW. THE MONEY YOUR PARENTS MIGHT HAVE BEEN COUNTING ON BEING THERE MIGHT NOT BE THERE. SO, YOU KNOW, HAVING EVERYBODY FILL THIS OUT, AT LEAST YOU'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS TO KNOW WHAT'S AVAILABLE OUT THERE IF YOU NEED THE HELP. >> WELL, WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, LOTS OF FAMILIES DON'T BELIEVE THEY'RE ELIGIBLE N. CALIFORNIA, WE INVEST IN THE CAL GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH SERVES STUDENTS WHO HAVE VERY IMPOVERISHED BACKGROUNDS UP UNTIL THE $60,000, $70,000 ANNUAL SALARY. BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE MIDDLE CLASS SCHOLARSHIP, WHICH SERVES STUDENTS UP TO ABOUT CLOSE TO $200,000 A YEAR FOR THEIR FAMILY EARNINGS IF THEY'RE GOING TO A U.C. OR CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY. DEIRDRE: THE INTERESTING THING IS HOW QUICKLY YOU TURNING THE INFORMATION. PEOPLE FILL OUT THE PAPERWORK, AND WITHIN 72 HOURS YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR FAMILY MIGHT QUALIFY FOR. >> EXACTLY. A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT. IN 72 HOURS, YOU FIND OUT IF YOU'RE ELIGIBLE FOR A PELL GRANT, WHICH IS THE FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID, AND CAN BE AS HIGH AS $7,000. AND THEN A COUPLE OF WEEKS AFTER THAT YOU FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR CALIFORNIA STATE FINANCIAL AID. SO YOU FIND OUT VERY QUICKLY WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVED 10,000, $15,000. DEIRDRE: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE APPLICATION. WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? HOW DO YOU DO IT? WHERE DO YOU ACCESS IT? >> IT'S ONLINE, AND EVERYONE, THE FREE APPLICATION IS THE GATEWAY TO ALL FINANCIAL AID. EVERY OPPORTUNITY HAS TO COMPLETE THAT TO ACCESS FEDERAL AND STATE AID. FOR UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS, WE HAVE THE CALIFORNIA DREAM ACT APPLICATION, WHICH PROVIDES ACCESS TO ONLY CALIFORNIA AID, AND YOU CAN ACCESS THAT AT THE CALIFORNIA STATE AID COMMISSION'S WEBSITE. YOU'LL GET ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO VERY QUICKLY GO RIGHT TO THE LINK AND START THE PROCESS. DEIRDRE: WHAT INFORMATION IS ASKED FOR ON THIS APPLICATION? >> THERE'S A LOT OF PARENTAL INCOME INFORMATION, AND RIGHT NOW THE FAFSA IS 110 QUESTIONS, SO IT IS NOT EASY. WE HAVE WORKSHOPS DESIGNED TO HELP STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES LINE BY LINE WALK THROUGH THAT APPLICATION. DEIRDRE: AND YOU GOT TO TAKE IT ALL SERIOUSLY. YOU NEVER KNOW. >> THE GOOD NEWS IS STARTING NEXT YEAR, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS REDUCING THE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS FROM 110 TO CLOSE TO 40 QUESTIONS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR FAMILY. THAT'S PART OF THE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION, THE FAFSS SIMPLIFICATION ACT. DEIRDRE: THAT SEEMS LIKE A REALLY GOOD IDEA. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. WE APPRECIATE THE EXTRA INFORMATION THERE. STUDENTS CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ON CSAC.CA.GOV/ALLIN. OR CALL 888-CA-GRANT. THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO REACH OUT AS WELL. THERE'S LOTS OF INFORMATION ONLINE. DON'T FORGET TO JUST TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO