Make the date. Max the cash.

This is the simple message behind College Goal Sunday, a nationwide effort intended to get soon-to-be college students to apply for federal financial aid. College Goal Sunday happens Sunday, Feb. 11 from 2 to 4 p.m. at 27 sites across Michigan, including the VisTaTech Center at Schoolcraft College in Livonia.

To be eligible for federal financial aid, individuals must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. Doing so by March 1 maximizes a student’s potential for receiving aid. At College Goal Sunday, financial aid experts will be on hand to sit down with students and parents and to help them through the process of completing the FAFSA.

Individuals attending College Goal Sunday should bring their social security numbers, driver’s licenses or alien registration cards, 2005 federal tax returns if 2006 returns aren’t complete, and 2006 untaxed income records. These documents contain information that is required in the FAFSA.

College Goal Sunday is free, and no reservations are required. For more information, call 1-800-832-2464 or visit www.MICollegeGoal.org.

College Goal Sunday was created by the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association with funding from Lilly Endowment, Inc. and with supplemental support from Lumina Foundation for Education. The event’s national Web site is www.collegegoalsundayusa.org.

Schoolcraft College is located on Haggerty Road between Six and Seven Mile Roads in Livonia. Parking for the VisTaTech Center is in Lot N.