Happy October - Thank you for reading!

Hello MTB Families,

We hope you are having a great start to October! 🍂 Please keep reading to find out about key announcements and upcoming events for this month.

Financial Literacy Sessions

Your student is beginning to receive their monthly stipend check, and now is a great time to start talking about banking basics and credit. To support this, we are offering workshops designed to help students (and families!) feel confident about managing money.

First session: Banking Basics 101

When: Thursday, October 16 at 7:00 pm on Zoom

Speaker: Carolina Rozewski, Vice President and Community Director

Second session: Learn more about Credit & Credit Scores

When: Saturday, October 18 at 10:00 am on Zoom

Speakers: Amaro Pereira, Managing Director and Carolina Rozewski, Vice President and Community Director

Your student can RSVP through their Google Calendar invite.

Don't miss your chance to learn more about strategies for building good credit, how to access and read a credit report, managing spending and credit responsibly and more! Families are welcome to attend!

Meet Some of the MTB Support Team!

Hi, my name is Sussex.

I was born in El Salvador and came to the United States when I was 15. While raising my kids and focusing on my family, I decided to attend college and pursue new goals. It's definitely been a journey, but I'm more grateful than ever to have found myself at MTB.

As a first-generation student, it’s gratifying to be able to support others who share that same experience. We are resilient and unique, and our stories matter.

In the future, one of my goals is to continue supporting and encouraging those who need that support—to remind them not to place limits on their dreams and aspirations. I’m also looking forward to taking my licensing exam and continuing to grow in all the beautiful ways I'm meant to. Graciasss por todo :)

Hi everyone! My name is Noelia, and I am a first-generation student, born in the U.S. to a family that immigrated from Peru. I’m currently a master’s student working toward my degree in Clinical Social Work. I’ve developed a very heartfelt passion for the field and hope to eventually pursue a PhD to contribute and give back to the field and communities in ways they deserve. Among many things, I’m especially excited to learn more about each of you — your stories, your dreams, and what drives you to reach them.

A few fun facts about me: I absolutely love watching movies and having conversations about them — I could do it for days. My favorite animal is the whale, and one of my craziest bucket list dreams is to go diving with them someday!

Stay Connected on WhatsApp

We want to make it easy for families to stay connected and informed. Join our MTB WhatsApp group to receive quick updates and reminders directly to your phone. It's a great way to support your student throughout the year.

Also, we will share the links to the financial literacy sessions so make sure you join by clicking below!

Level All

We are partnering with Level All, an online platform designed to support your student’s success. Access to Level All is being offered to members of our MTB community free of charge.

ACTION REQUIRED: Families, you may have already received an email invitation from Level All. If you wish to take advantage of this resource, please accept this invitation and create your account. There is no requirement to do so!

The Level All content library has detailed short-form articles and videos covering:

• Succeeding in high school
• Navigating the college application process
• Affording college
• College transition and success
• College alternatives
• Career exploration and preparation
• Financial literacy
• Life skills 
• And more!

You can take a walkthrough of the Level All platform. 

If you missed the email but want to access the platform, click here:

Ask a Question

There's no such thing as a stupid question. Ask anything and everything by going to this form. Don't be shy! Ask a question »

Question: FAFSA?

Question: What is FAFSA?

Answer: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is the free application for federal student aid.

You need to complete the FAFSA form each year to be eligible for federal grants (that's free money - up to $7,395 - that does not ever need to be paid back), work-study funds (for jobs on campus), and/or loans. Completing the FAFSA form is easy and helps pay for college or career/trade school.

Also, colleges and the state of New Jersey use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for additional state and school aid.

Students who are US citizens (or eligible noncitizens with an A#) are eligible, regardless of their parents' citizenship.

Question: Is the FAFSA safe?

Question: Is it safe to apply for financial aid if we are a mixed-status family?

Answer: It's complicated.

The Higher Education Act prohibits the Education Department from using FAFSA data for any purpose other than determining eligibility for federal aid. FAFSA data is also protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FAFSA data has not yet been used for immigration enforcement. However, we cannot guarantee that this data will not be used for immigration enforcement by future administrators.

Families may want to consider whether their data is already in the system because they pay taxes, for example, or because they have already completed the FAFSA for other children. In this case, completing the current FAFSA likely does not put the family at any additional risk.

If you want to have a confidential conversation about this issue with one of our social work interns or our FAFSA Fellow, Melissa Reyes, please indicate that clicking below.

Coming Soon - Mark Your Calendar!

Our second Full Group Meeting is coming up! Students are expected to attend one of these dates:

• Saturday, October 11 | 10:00-11:00am OR
• Sunday, October 12 | 4:00-5:00pm

Attendance is mandatory.

Thank you for being here!

Thank you so much for being part of the MTB community. See you in November!🦃

-The MTB Team

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