Largest provider of student financial aid in the nation
It’s time for high school seniors and their parents in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by visiting www.fafsa.gov.
During the 2021-22 academic year, the region had 4,951 students complete a FAFSA application, for a FAFSA completion rate of 38.8 percent. The region’s FAFSA completion rate has steadily declined since the 2016-17 academic year and remains below the state FAFSA completion rate of 43.0 percent in 2021-22. Several factors have played a role in in the decline including the economic impact of Hurricane Irma, the blue/green algae and red tide events, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Regionally, funding was lacking to amplify the FAFSA first! campaign, which had a positive impact on completion prior to 2017. Certainly the impacts of Hurricane Ian mean that local students will need more support than ever to be encouraged and educated to fill out the form.
In the 2020-21 academic year, more than 1.7 million high school graduates nationally did not fill out the FAFSA. Just under half of those graduates – approximately 813,000 students – were Pell Grant-eligible, according to data from the Office of Federal Student Aid. But not filling out the FAFSA means no aid.
The total amount of Pell Grant dollars these students left on the table was $3,749,568,893. The average amount of money that would have been awarded to each student was $4,477 nationally.
States with the largest sums of Pell dollars left on the table were, unsurprisingly, states with large populations including:
California: $561,300,185.
Texas: $495,973,418.
Florida: $304,321,657.
New York: $205,135,415.
FAFSA is the only way to apply for federal student aid and is the largest provider of student financial aid in the nation. Each year, the federal government provides more than $150 billion in financial aid (grants, work-study and loans) for college and career school. To apply for this aid, every high school senior who plans to attend college or career school must complete the FAFSA. State governments and many colleges, career schools and private organizations also use FAFSA information to determine additional financial aid awards.
The FAFSA is available as of Oct. 1, 2022. File the FAFSA now, so you can receive financial aid award offers from schools sooner and make informed decisions about college or career school affordability.
Parents and applicants can use their 2021 Income Tax Return information. The process is easier because you should already have your 2021 income tax information. You can even use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import your tax information directly from the IRS website into your FAFSA to avoid errors.
“In order to accomplish the goal of transforming Southwest Florida’s workforce, FutureMakers Coalition partners are collaborating to improve access to post-secondary education by increasing the number of students filling out the FAFSA,” said Tessa LeSage, FutureMakers director, Collaboratory, which is serving as the backbone organization for the FutureMakers Coalition. “Research shows FAFSA completion rates correlate with the percentage of workforce who holds degrees, certificates and high-quality credentials.”
FutureMakers Coalition launched an updated FAFSA first! website at http://www.futuremakerscoalition.com/fafsafirst/ The website includes information, tools, frequently asked questions and a pathway for students and their parents to easily navigate and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online which is essential for graduating high school seniors planning on attending college or career school.
“We are here to help no matter where a student plans to attend college or career school,” said Patrice Cunningham, vice president, United Way Volunteer Center, FutureMaker. “We can assist them with completing their FAFSA, trouble-shooting and any problems they may have in finishing the Florida financial aid application for ensuring they have access to additional grant money that they may qualify for. Our team is here to not be a burden but offer relief to the schools and counselors.”
She added that many times the students do not realize that their application is not complete due to missing information and errors.
FutureMakers Coalition’s FAFSA first! is available to help make the application process as easy as possible. FutureMakers has a robust team of cross-sector partners leading the FAFSA first! campaign including the United Way of Lee, Hendry, Glades and Okeechobee; Lee and Collier’s school foundations; FGCU; FSW; and Future Ready Collier.
According to Cunningham, students, parents and counselors with questions can reach out to FAFSAfirst@futuremakerscoalition.com and a financial aid representative from the team will assist them. Additional resources including a step by step FAFSA guide are available at https://www.futuremakerscoalition.com/fafsafirst/
FAFSA first! will help this year’s incoming senior classes and assist in county-wide Financial Aid Nights with the purpose of simplifying the complex financial aid process for prospective college and career students.
“Our FAFSA first! team of financial aid experts and partners are here to help each school in whatever capacity they need with a menu of options such as Financial Aid 101 for Fall Senior nights or FAFSA walkthrough sessions,” Cunningham said.
FutureMakers Coalition is a regional collective impact initiative that has been designated a Talent Hub by Lumina Foundation in partnership with The Kresge Foundation to support local efforts to increase educational attainment. Formed in 2015 around existing regional collaborations, the Coalition is committed to creating a cradle-to-career pathway to ensure success for traditional students and adult learners. FutureMakers Coalition was one of Lumina Foundation’s 75 national Community Partners in Attainment and is a member of the National Talent Network. Collaboratory provides backbone/administrative support to FutureMakers Coalition.
FutureMakers Coalition encourages businesses to join and invest in sustaining this community-changing initiative by visiting https://www.futuremakerscoalition.com or emailing info@collaboratory.org.
