Hundreds of Hawaii families sending kids off to college got free help on Sunday navigating through an annual rite of passage known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — or FAFSA.

The 10-page financial aid form is so complicated that Donna Lum of Wai­alae returned for her fourth consecutive FAFSA workshop Sunday even though her son, Ross, is a 21-year-old graduating senior at Washington University.

Ross wants to go on to graduate school in physical therapy, and the family could use any financial assistance to help pay for whatever university accepts him, Donna Lum said at the McKinley High School auditorium, where 250 other parents and students came Sunday.

Identical, nearly two-hour workshops were held Sunday at McKinley, Castle, Mililani, Wai­anae and Wai­pahu high schools and at the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

Similar workshops will be held Sunday at Kealakehe High School’s library on Hawaii island, Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School’s cafeteria on Kauai and at UH-Maui College.

The FAFSA form is the universal document that all universities use for federal financial assistance, and more Hawaii families appear to be filling it out, said Carole Ann Simpson, a consultant with USA Funds, a nonprofit organization that helps fund the nationwide College Goal Sunday FAFSA workshops.

In 2009-2010, 17,000 Pell grants were awarded to Hawaii colleges and universities for a total of $61.9 million, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

In 2010-2011 the number of Pell grants to Hawaii colleges and universities increased to 19,025, and the value rose to $66.4 million.

"The only way to find out if you’re even eligible for a Pell grant is to fill out that FAFSA," Simpson said. "It is the key form to getting into college for many first-generation college students and especially for minority students. … Helping parents and students complete the FAFSA may be one of the factors that has led to an increase in the numbers of Pell grants received by students at Hawaii’s colleges and universities."

But successfully navigating through the document can be daunting, said Eric Nemoto, executive director of Med-Assist School of Hawaii, who led the McKinley workshops.

By far the most confusion centers around two similar questions — Nos. 34 and 81 — that separately ask parents and students whether they filed a 1040 IRS form when they were eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ form, Nemoto told those who had gathered.

After a long explanation that journeyed into income versus assets and income thresholds, Nemoto finally said, "If you don’t know, just mark that you don’t know."