Florida College Access Network (FCAN) is excited to announce the winners of the 2019 Florida FAFSA Challenge, a statewide campaign to increase the proportion of high school seniors completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Through the end of March, 72 schools representing 27 counties increased the percentage of seniors who completed the FAFSA by at least 5% over last year. As a result, Florida seniors qualify for an estimated $143 million in Pell Grant dollars.
Districts and schools in Miami-Dade, Seminole, Sumter, Orange, Escambia, Brevard, and Taylor counties won top honors as the highest performers. Links to the Florida FAFSA Challenge Dashboard and FAFSA completion data for all schools and districts — including all those that exceeded the 5% goal — are available. You can also view the FAFSA Challenge Leaderboard, which includes all of the trophy winners listed below.
“MVP” (Have the highest FAFSA completion rate through March 29, 2019)
Large School: Coral Reef Senior High School, Miami, Miami-Dade County
Medium School: Terra Environmental Research Institute, Miami, Miami-Dade County
Small School: School For Advanced Studies – South, Miami, Miami-Dade County
Large District: Seminole County Public Schools
Small District: Sumter School District
“Most improved” (Improved FAFSA completion rate the most, compared to last year, through March 29, 2019)
Large School: Maynard Evans High, Orlando, Orange County
Medium School: Washington Senior High School, Pensacola, Escambia County
Small School: Odyssey Charter School, Palm Bay, Brevard County
Large District: Escambia County School District
Small District: Taylor School District
The “MVP” and “Most Improved” winners will be honored during an Awards Luncheon on May 8 at the 2019 Florida College Access Network Summit.
How Did Your School or District Do?
Curious about how your school or district fared in the Florida FAFSA Challenge? You can find out on FCAN’s Florida FAFSA Challenge Dashboard, which includes data for over 600 public schools in the state.
The dashboard also allows users to view school, district, and state-level FAFSA completion rates using nine different filters and search options.
Chart: FAFSA completion among 12th graders attending Florida public schools
Click image to view FAFSA completion rate data for all public schools in Florida
The Florida FAFSA Challenge is part of College Ready Florida, a suite of statewide initiatives designed to build a college-going culture and help all students — especially low-income students — continue their educations beyond high school.
FCAN applauds all schools and districts that committed to helping more graduating high school seniors access financial aid for college and congratulates those that boosted their FAFSA completion rates this year!