FAFSA | White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics

This is crossposted from the U.S. Department of Education’s blog, Homeroom.

It’s FAFSA Week of Action (April 15-19) and to kick off the effort the U.S. Department of Education is thrilled to announce the launch our #FAFSAFastBreak campaign, a national effort to drive FAFSA submissions among high school seniors and returning college students. Everyone has an important role to play!

We have already received nearly 200 #FAFSAFastBreak commitments from high school counselors, principals, superintendents, after-school programs, parent groups, non-profit organizations, and other local and state education organizations that have pledged to share information and host a variety of virtual and in-person events.

Hosting or attending a #FAFSAFastBreak submission event is a great way to encourage students and families to take advantage of the historic financial benefits afforded by the Better FAFSA. For example, the new and improved Better FAFSA form can unlock up to $7,395 in federal aid that a student does not need to repay to help cover the cost of college. What’s more, the Better FAFSA ensures 665,000 more students will receive Federal Pell Grants to pay for college, and more than 1.7 million more students will receive the maximum Pell Grant!

Throughout the FAFSA Week of Action, over 85 in-person events will take place across the country ranging from FAFSA clinics to FAFSA spirit weeks in local high schools. For example:

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs issued a statewide FAFSA proclamation, sent a FAFSA letter to AZ school leaders, school counselors and community partners, and encouraged the launch of a statewide Finish Line to FAFSA campaign website to encourage completion events, which includes a regularly updated calendar highlighting all FAFSA events in the state!
Bridges 2 Life and Broward County Public Schools in Broward County, Florida are planning a FAFSA outreach campaign to reach over 30,000 parents via email, text, and Instagram; hosting bilingual FAFSA bootcamps, and offering $20 gift cards for seniors who complete their FAFSA.
JP McCaskey High School in Lancaster, PA is hosting individual appointments for families throughout the school day all week in both of their high school buildings, before coming together in a central location in the afternoon and evening to offer more appointments with the support of some of their local higher education and community partners. Their goal is always to try to meet families when they are available, and so they will have appointments as early as 8am and as late as 7:30pm, with light refreshments available throughout.
Jackson City School in Jackson, Kentucky set a goal of 100% FAFSA submissions by April 19, is creating videos that highlight the importance of FAFSA, is supporting student leadership in promoting financial aid awareness throughout the community and is hosting a FAFSA Spirit Week with daily activities to engage students.
The Los Angeles Unified School District is hosting regional FAFSA completion workshops each day during the Week of Action, in-school and after-school completion sessions for students and parents and is calling and texting students and parents directly to explain the importance of and steps to submitting the FAFSA.
The Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development plans to launch a Week of Action social media campaign to build upon their ongoing efforts to drive FAFSA submissions, which include regularly holding a “FAFSA Frenzy” completion effort throughout the state, pushing the importance of completing the FAFSA through social media and websites, and plans to supply graduation stoles to seniors who complete their FAFSA. Governor Mike Parson also put out PSA radio ad and sent a letter to high school seniors.

Are you holding a submission event during the FAFSA Week of Action? Check out amplification ideas here, example social media messages here, and be sure to share your efforts and success stories using #FAFSAFastBreak on social media!

Tracking FAFSA Data

Want to keep track on how your state, district or high school is doing in terms of FAFSA submissions? Check out your state rankings here (updated weekly) and look up submission data filtered by district or high school at the Federal Student Aid website here.

FAFSA Snapshot

Now is the time for high school seniors and returning college students to submit their 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, an application that students and families need to complete to apply for federal student aid, such as federal grants, work-study funds, and loans. Students can complete the FAFSA form here.

Additional FAFSA Resources

You can also find additional resources, toolkits, pro-tips, and “how to” videos on the U.S. Department of Education’s website here.

For more information about the FAFSA process, check out StudentAid.gov here. Users can click “Español” at the top right side of the page, or choose Spanish as their preferred language if they have a StudentAid.gov account.

This was crossposted from the U.S. Department of Education blog, Homeroom

By: Federal Student Aid

As students and families prepare for education beyond high school, cost is a critical consideration. At Federal Student Aid, we know students and families often have to make tough decisions about higher education, and we know the COVID-19 emergency has made some of those decisions even harder.

In typical times, submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form is the first step students and families should take to access federal dollars for college or career school; this is especially true during this challenging period.

In addition to federal student aid, submitting the FAFSA form also can unlock opportunities for aid from some states, postsecondary institutions, and private organizations. Because many states have limited funds, students and families should know their state’s deadline and submit the FAFSA form as early as possible.

At Federal Student Aid, we’ve seen an alarming decline in the number of high school seniors who’ve submitted the 2021–22 FAFSA form. In fact, compared to the same time last year, there’s been a 9.2% national decline in first-time FAFSA submissions by high school seniors (data as of Feb. 26, 2021). In several states—like Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and West Virginia—the decline reaches double digits.

Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 American Community Survey One-Year Estimates; U.S. Department of Education office of Federal Student Aid: 2020–21 FAFSA^® Application Cycle (Oct. 1, 2019–Feb. 26, 2020) to 2021–22 FAFSA Application Cycle (Oct. 1, 2020–Feb. 26, 2021)

When we closely examine the states with the greatest declines in first-time FAFSA submissions, we find overlap with some of the states with high percentages of individuals living below the poverty level.

Higher education remains a prominent avenue for upward mobility in America. That’s why Federal Student Aid’s mission is to fund America’s future, one student at a time. By being the most-trusted source of information about federal student aid, we want to ensure all students can access higher education regardless of their ZIP code.

But today, many students across the nation are missing out on federal student aid—including critical need-based aid—by failing to submit the FAFSA form. Each year, the federal government provides more than $115 billion in federal grants, work-study funds, and loans; in award year 2018–19, about one-quarter of that aid was in the form of grants, awarded to students with financial need.

We need your help reaching students and their families. We need your help telling them that submitting the FAFSA form today—despite current uncertainties—opens up options for the future.

The U.S. Department of Education has reminded financial aid professionals that they have the authority to adjust financial aid packages based on factors, such as changes in family income. A few weeks ago, Federal Student Aid asked education leaders in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. to join us in making FAFSA completion for high school seniors a priority. And, many have responded!

For example, following a recent FAFSA completion campaign in Louisiana, FAFSA submissions increased by 5%, and education officials are making plans for a follow-up outreach campaign. Arkansas officials are partnering with Federal Student Aid, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations to develop electronic resource kits for students and families. They’re even using TikTok, the social media video-sharing platform, to engage students!

Reaching students and families where they are is why we created the myStudentAid mobile app, which is available for iOS and Android devices. The mobile app offers a convenient option for students and families to fill out and submit the FAFSA form from a cell phone or tablet. There’s a personalized dashboard, along with checklists to help students and families stay on track and the option to sign up for text alerts about important actions they need to take.

Help us spread the word to students and families to take action by filling out and submitting the 2021–22 FAFSA form today. And, please let them know there are several ways to get help if they need it when applying for federal student aid. They can

access enhanced help topics on the FAFSA form;
visit studentaid.gov/resources;
use our virtual assistant, Aidan^®, on StudentAid.gov or the myStudentAid mobile app;
tweet @FAFSA; and
speak with a customer service representative at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).

Working together, we can encourage students and families to fill out the FAFSA form today to open doors to their future.

White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics

U.S. Department of Education

Category Archives: FAFSA

It’s FAFSA Week of Action: Time to Take a #FAFSAFastBreak!

Let’s Urge High School Seniors to Complete the FAFSA® Form Today

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