If every high school in Florida can ensure that just 10 more seniors complete a FAFSA this spring, the increase in applications will result in at least $10 million more in federal grants that can be used for college that never need to be repaid, according to estimates from Florida CAN.
Last November at a White House convening in San Diego, a cross-sector group of Florida representatives set this $10 million goal to bring more awareness around the importance of the FAFSA and encourage schools to check their FAFSA completion rates throughout the year. Florida CAN will collect and disseminate FAFSA completion data throughout the spring and post it to the Florida FAFSA Finish Line dashboard to track our progress in meeting the $10 Million FAFSA Challenge this year.
How can your school participate in the FAFSA Finish Line and boost FAFSA completion at your school? Set goals for 2015, and check your school’s progress on the Florida FAFSA Finish Line interactive dashboard every two weeks. Get students at your school to submit a video as part of the First Lady’s FAFSA Completion Commencement Challenge. Raise awareness in your schools and with parents about the importance of completing the form using resources from the U.S. Department of Education’s Financial Aid Toolkit. Host a College Goal Sunday event or a separate FAFSA completion event to provide help completing the form. Get line-by-line FAFSA training from experts like Mapping Your Financial Future and the National College Access Network. Check out Florida CAN’s recent webinar and policy brief on FAFSA for some great ideas on how to boost FAFSA completion.
Florida CAN will track Florida schools’ progress and periodically report on outcomes between now and graduation. Let the “funds” begin!