Florida’s FAFSA completion rates jumped 7.8 percentage points this year, unlocking millions in financial aid for over 113,000 students. The Florida College Access Network brought together the regional organizations behind this success to share exactly how they did it, just one day after the 2026-27 FAFSA launched nationwide.
Florida’s FAFSA Success Story
Florida’s FAFSA completion rates, as tracked by the FCAN FAFSA Challenge Dashboard, hit 51.7% among seniors as of August 2025, according to data presented by FCAN researchers Keyna Wintjen and Dane Shelton. The 7.8 percentage point increase from the previous year yielded an approximate total of 113,000 students who completed a FAFSA and translates to millions of dollars in Pell Grant access. Miami-Dade County alone earned an estimated $24.4 million for students.
The gains crossed all district sizes. Putnam County posted the most dramatic improvement, jumping from 13.7% to 34.4% completion, a 20.7 percentage point increase. Miami-Dade grew by 19.8 percentage points, while Sarasota County led large districts with 41.2% completion and a 16.2 percentage point gain.
Three regional organizations revealed the specific strategies driving these gains.
Three Models of Regional Success
Elevate Brevard: Building Lasting Infrastructure
Shayla Murray Smith’s story shows how to build a sustainable FAFSA completion program even when starting from scratch. When she arrived as Elevate Brevard’s second director in 2024, Shayla inherited a program where every original partner had turned over. Shayla’s approach centered on three key lessons:
- Establish multi-level relationships. Rather than relying on single points of contact, Shayla built connections at the CEO level, middle management level, and boots-on-the-ground level. This strategy protects programs from inevitable turnover that can derail momentum.
- Maintain “crisis funders”—partners who can give quick approvals. When traditional funding fell through, Elevate Brevard secured $5,000 in emergency support within weeks by leveraging existing relationships and clearly articulating the program’s ROI.
- Build infrastructure in-house. By managing mini-grant applications, W-9s, and reporting internally, Elevate removed barriers for funders and schools while maintaining program quality.
The results: Brevard County achieved a 35% increase in FAFSA completion, unlocking an estimated $4 million in Pell Grants and earning recognition as the district’s Education Partner of the Year.
Citrus County Coalition: Student Peer Power
Patrick Simon’s volunteer-led coalition proves that students can be the most powerful FAFSA advocates. Citrus County’s approach combines systematic support with peer-to-peer influence in ways that improve outcomes for nearly every high school senior.
The coalition’s Summer Rise program has grown from 18 students in 2018 to over 160 participants in 2025, with its focus on resume writing, college applications, and mock interviews with 100 community volunteers. But their most innovative approach involves student coaches who work year-round supporting their classmates.
Eli Langston (University of South Florida) and Zion Adams (Withlacoochee Technical College), both current college students themselves, demonstrated the power of consistent peer outreach. As student FAFSA coaches, they cold-call classmates and parents, then spend entire summers helping graduates navigate the application process. Eli noted that email outreach doesn’t work; personal phone calls do, highlighting the importance of human connection in this work.
The results for Citrus County’s Class of 2025: 72% completed the FAFSA and 84% enrolled in postsecondary institutions.
Broward Bridge 2 Life: Scale and Partnership
Colleen Lockwood’s work leading the Broward County local college access network demonstrates how to achieve FAFSA completion gains at massive scale. Her organization was selected for federal beta testing two years running, including hosting Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and nearly 1,000 families for a historic August 2025 beta event. Broward’s success rests on four essential elements:
- Communication partnerships. Working directly with the district’s communications department, Bridge 2 Life is able to reach all 30,000 high school seniors and their parents through coordinated text, robocall, and email outreach.
- Financial aid expertise. Every major FAFSA event includes 15-20 financial aid representatives from higher education institutions, providing immediate one-on-one guidance alongside expert presentations from practitioners like Daniel Barkowitz.
- Incentives and hospitality. Broward sweetens the deal with $20 e-gift cards for completed FAFSAs and full meals, simple incentives that prove surprisingly powerful with families.
- Institutional relationships. Partnerships with higher education institutions provide both the expertise for live events and the ongoing support students need as they transition from FAFSA completion to college enrollment.
Strategies That Work Across All Models
- Center student voices. From Citrus County’s peer coaches to student testimonials during Broward’s events, peer-to-peer communication consistently drives FAFSA completion better than adult-led outreach.
- Track data strategically. All three organizations track completion rates, Pell dollars accessed, year-over-year improvements, and long-term student outcomes. This data guides program improvements and secures continued funding.
- Build relationships deliberately. Each successful organization invested significant time developing authentic connections that weather challenges and deliver when needed most.
- Respond quickly on the ground. The most successful programs respond rapidly to both student crises and changing funding circumstances.
Game-Changing FAFSA Updates for 2026-27
Beta testing produced two major fixes that will help all families nationwide.
- Streamlined parent invitations: The most significant update tackles what FAFSA expert Daniel Barkowitz identified as “the single biggest problem families had in the application.” Instead of requiring students to provide their parents’ names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth (information many students don’t know), the new process requires only a parent’s email address. Parents automatically receive a custom invite code and link to complete their section, and if they misplace the code, students can retrieve it from their FAFSA dashboard. This streamlined approach should eliminate the most common bottleneck in the application process.
- Instant FSA ID validation: The old system required students and parents to create their FSA IDs three days in advance and wait for database verification, but now verification happens immediately with instant error feedback. This change is “critical for those of you who do FAFSA events,” Daniel noted, “because you don’t have to tell families to complete their FSA ID before coming anymore.”
Looking Ahead
As Daniel Barkowitz emphasized, beta testing is now a permanent part of the FAFSA process, meaning continuous improvement rather than dramatic annual changes. The 2026-27 FAFSA launched September 24, 2025, the earliest in history, giving students and families more time to complete applications and access aid.
For organizations looking to strengthen their FAFSA completion work, the models shared suggest that success comes not from any single strategy but from creating what Shayla called “a well-coordinated ecosystem of support.” Whether that’s mini-grants and infrastructure building, peer coaching and community partnerships, or large-scale events and communication campaigns, the key is sustained, relationship-based effort that puts student success at the center.
The numbers are clear: when Florida communities build systematic FAFSA support, completion rates jump by double digits and millions in aid reaches students who need it most.
For more information about FCAN’s FAFSA Challenge and dashboard, click here.
Show Notes:
To learn more and watch the webinar, take advantage of these resources: