Parents who are helping their high school seniors prepare for college might need a little help themselves with a process that can be intimidating and confusing: filling out the FAFSA.

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is a required form that must be completed online for students to be eligible for grants, scholarships and other higher education student aid.

Fortunately, parents can find help at a free event held at Tahoma High School on Thursday, Jan. 7 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. College Goal Sunday is a national program designed to help parents navigate the FAFSA. College and high school representatives will be available to provide parents with individualized assistance. Parents can complete the form that evening, using the school’s computer labs.

The event is open to parents and students from Auburn, Tahoma, Kent and Enumclaw school districts, as well as private schools and home schools. The College Goal Sunday session at Tahoma High School is the first of several that will be held in Washington through February. The high school is located

in the Covington-Maple Valley area at 18200 SE 240th St., Covington.

In addition to help with the FAFSA, there also will be a drawing to award four scholarships of $250 each to participating students.

For questions, contact the Tahoma High School counseling office at 425-413-6204. To pre-register and to learn about the kind of information needed to complete the FAFSA, please go to this Web page: www.collegegoalsundaywa.org.

For more information contact Mike Hansen or Jill Jolk at Tahoma High School, 425-413-6204.