Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools has joined a statewide effort to fill out more financial aid applications in order for more students to have access to higher education.
Only 58 percent of North Carolina students filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, in 2020. The NC First in FAFSA Challenge hopes to increase the number of completed applications as part of a post-secondary attainment goal. Students who fill out the FAFSA are more likely to attend college, keep up in their classwork, and obtain a degree according to myFutureNC.
Seventy-seven percent of North Carolina public high schools registered for the challenge, but CHCCS superintendent Dr. Nyah Hamlett said 100 percent of the high schools in the district are participating.
“It’s been great, our high schools joined the First in FAFSA challenge really to promote FAFSA completion and based on a results shared a few weeks ago it looked like we were contenders,” Hamlett said.
One way the district is promoting completion of the FAFSA is through events for families to work with their student. Hamlett said the district held a virtual parent FAFSA night with more than 40 families participating.
Another incentive for schools to promote FAFSA completion is a chance to win 500 dollars for the school by having the highest percentage of completion, highest increase, and most innovative strategy for increasing completion from previous years.
As of April 2, CHCCS schools had more than 50 percent of high school seniors fill out a FAFSA. Statewide, the First in FAFSA challenge has a goal of 65 percent. Hamlett said the district will work to provide the resources available to all students to meet the statewide benchmark.
“We’re getting the word out there and really working with our students through our school counselors and our teachers to make sure that our students have access to the FAFSA and all the information they need to be prepared for life after high school,” Hamlett said.
The myFutureNC initiative set a goal of 80 percent of North Carolina high school seniors filing a FAFSA by 2030. The initiative also hopes to have students complete their FAFSA earlier in their senior year to receive as much money for college as possible.
The FAFSA challenge is part of the myFutureNC initiative to ensure two million North Carolinians have a high-quality credential or post-secondary degree by 2030.
Two of every three new jobs require a form of post-secondary education according to myFutureNC. The FAFSA helps to combat the costs of higher education by allowing students to request federal grants, work-study, and loans. A 2014 study from the United States Military Academy found students who did not fill out an application were missing out on 24 billion dollars in Pell Grants, subsidized student loans, work-study, and state aid programs.
Three other high schools in Orange County are also participating in the FAFSA challenge.
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