Online: Get FAFSA Help

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the primary form used by federal, state, and financial assistance programs to determine your eligibility for grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships. You have to fill out a new FAFSA every year. Complete your FAFSA as soon as possible, as funding can be limited. If you do not fill out the FAFSA, you risk losing out on money that you might be eligible for.

Let a financial aid expert from the Central Piedmont Financial Aid office guide you through the process at a FAFSA Workshop — continue reading for links to register for either a group or individual session, as well as to learn what to bring to your workshop.

Before coming to your workshop, create your FSA ID and keep reading for other things to bring to your workshop.

FAFSA Workshop Sessions

We offer various ways to get information about FAFSA: group virtual sessions, group in-person sessions, and individual in-person sessions.

  • Virtual Group FAFSA Workshops
    • Available for one hour slots:

      • Mondays and Wednesdays, 2–3 p.m. or 3:30–4:30 p.m.
      • Fridays, 10–11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
    • Limit 10 students per session

    All sessions are held online via Google Meets. We will send you more information on how to access the meeting once you schedule your session.

    Register for a group FAFSA workshop.

  • In-Person Group FAFSA Workshops

    Available on Fridays from 2–4 p.m, starting on August 5, on the following campuses:

    • Cato Campus: Cato I, Room 232
    • Harris Campus: Harris I, Room 2113
    • Levine Campus: Levine I, Room 2213
    • Merancas Campus: Merancas IV, Room 104

    All sessions are held in-person and on a first-come, first-served basis. Advance registration is not required; we accept walk-ins.

  • One-on-One FAFSA Help Appointments

    In a one-on-one virtual FAFSA help appointment, you are the only person in the meeting with the financial aid expert.

    • Available Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 
    • 30 minutes long

    To schedule a one-on-one FAFSA help appointment, please log into Watermark using your Central Piedmont username and password.

    1. click on the blue Schedule a Meeting button
    2. select a location: Virtual
    3. select who you want to meet with: please select Tasha Moore
    4. what would you like to discuss: Financial Aid
    5. Under "What's on your mind?", please indicate that you would like to do a FAFSA Workshop and when you plan to start attending Central Piedmont as well as any additional information you would like to provide
    6. Click on the blue Pick a Time button (if no time is available, please select another day)

    You will automatically receive the Google Meet link to access your appointment via your student email account. If you need to cancel, log into your Watermark account again and cancel the appointment directly from there.

    If you are unable to log into Watermark, please email navigate@cpcc.edu for assistance.

  • What to Bring to Your Workshop

    Create your FSA ID before your workshop. Learn how to create your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID (video). Bring the following information with you to the workshop:

    • your FSA ID to sign electronically
    • Social Security number
    • Alien Registration number (if you are not a U.S. citizen)
    • 2018 federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned. (You may be able to electronically transfer your federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS data retrieval tool.)
    • bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)
    • records of untaxed income (if applicable)

    If you are a dependent student, your parent will also need to complete a portion of the FAFSA with this information.

  • Request Financial Aid Outreach Services

    Our Central Piedmont Financial Aid team can give financial aid information sessions, FAFSA workshops, and more to help you with your events. Request financial aid outreach services at least three weeks in advance.