In
early
December,
Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer announced
the
“Governor’s
FAFSA
Challenge”
for
high
schools
across the state to increase their
Free Application for Federal
Student Aid completion rate
among graduating seniors.
The challenge is supported
by the College Cash Campaign
initiative under Michigan College
Access Network, which will
provide the necessary resources,
such
as
an
implementation
guide and toolbox of tips, to help
participating high schools boost
their FAFSA completion rate.
MCAN is aiming for a 75
percent FAFSA completion rate
in 2020, a significant jump from
the 55.9 percent completion rate
in 2019.
“Every student deserves a
path to a quality, affordable
postsecondary education, and
filling out FAFSA forms can
make an enormous difference
for families across the state,”
Whitmer said in a press release
announcing
the
challenge.
“I just finished helping my
daughter fill out her FAFSA
application while she applied to
colleges. It’s simple and can help
students everywhere get on a
path to a quality postsecondary
education.”
Completing the FAFSA online
form is the only way to secure Pell
Grants and other federal financial
aid, as well as most state and
institutional financial aid. Last
year, it is estimated that about
25,000 Michigan students who
were eligible for the Pell Grant,
a federal subsidy for college
distributed to students based on
need, did not file the FAFSA. That
means nearly $100 million in Pell
Grant funding went unused in
the state of Michigan alone.
MCAN will work with the
estimated
500
participating
high schools November through
March on completing the FAFSA
and
scholarship
applications.
High schools will be able to
track their FAFSA completion
rate through the FAFSA tracker,
which
shows
the
individual
school’s completion data and
trends over time.
The
“Governor’s
FAFSA
Challenge” includes incentives
and awards for high schools
that reach certain levels of
FAFSA completion. The three
winning
high
schools
will
have the opportunity to have
Whitmer,
Lieutenant
Gov.
Garlin Gilchrist II or another
prominent Michigan celebrity to
serve as their commencement,
or decision day, speaker. The top
10 geographic winners will win
a trip to the Capitol and meet
Whitmer.
FAFSA completion rates are
lower in low-income districts
than in high-income districts,
according
to
College
Cash
Campaign.
Low-income
high school seniors are 127
percent more likely to enroll
in postsecondary education
after high school if they
complete the FAFSA than if
they do not complete it.
In a statement to The
Michigan
Daily,
Vickie
Crupper,
senior
associate
director
of
the
Office
of
Financial
Aid
at
the
University
of
Michigan,
said the University’s FAFSA
completion rates are already
extremely
high
among
incoming students.
“Anything done to increase
access to higher education,
especially for those from
low-income backgrounds, is a
positive step, and we applaud
the
governor’s
initiative,”
Crupper said. “At U-M we’re
lucky to have extremely high
FAFSA
completion
rates
among
our
students
and
families with need.”
Rackham student Laura
Rall is president of Affordable
Michigan,
a
student
organization that works to
alleviate some of the financial
barriers to college life, including
housing, health, food security
and worker’s rights.
Rall is from a small rural town
in Van Buren County, Michigan,
and believes the “Governor’s
FAFSA Challenge” is a great
initiative for encouraging high
school students to complete the
FAFSA. She recalled from her
own experience that her high
school left students to navigate
the FAFSA completion process by
themselves.
“Because there was no FAFSA
day at school or anything, if U-M
hadn’t asked me to fill it out, I
would never have thought to,”
Rall said.
Rall said that living in a rural
area presents other challenges
to
applying
to
college
and
completing the FAFSA, including
internet
access
and
parent
availability.
“Especially coming from my
lens of a small community and
an under-resourced community
… Wi-Fi isn’t a widespread thing,
just because it’s hard to get Wi-Fi
in the country, just access to a
computer to be able to fill out
that information,” Rall said. “And
then FAFSA is also relying on a
parent being around and being
able to answer the questions for
you, which is hard with working
schedules.”
Given
its
high
FAFSA
completion
rates,
Rall
said
the University could increase
accessibility by recruiting from
high schools in lower-income and
rural areas.
“I know it would be hard for
U-M to go to all of the different
schools,” Rall said. “Even just in
Michigan there’s so many, and a
lot are spread apart. But I think
it means a lot, especially when
you’re a high school or teenage
student to have someone tell
you face to face that this is a
possibility for you.”
MICHIGAN DAILY CL A SS OF 2019
2A — Wednesday, December 11, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
ALEC COHEN/Daily
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MAEVE O’BRIEN
Daily Staff Reporter
State hopes to raise number of high school students who apply for federal financial aid
Gov. Whitmer announces challenge for
increasing FAFSA application rates
Read more at
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Students numb from presidential election coverage
Dec. 11, 2000
While the media, obsessed
by
post-presidential
election coverage, continue
to indulge political junkies
with 24-hour election news
updates, most students are
now spending their time
obsessing about final exams
and term papers
In most other years the
presidential election would
have ended more than a
month ago, but this year’s
historic counts, recounts
–
and
then
even
more
recounts – are driving some
students batty.
Many students say they
don’t have time to pay
attention,
while
others
simply have lost interest.
“I just want it to be
decided.
I
don’t
really
care who gets it,” LSA
sophomore Michelle Brown
said
while
studying
at
Starbucks Coffee on South
State Street.
“I would kind of just like
to see it end. It’s making a big
debacle,” Business School
senior Kirk Oldford said,
adding that he has stopped
paying as much attention to
every new detail reported
by the news. “It’s not that I
don’t care. It;s just going to
be the same thing over and
over again. I’m just waiting
for the end to see what
happens.”
Proofreading
a
paper
at Angell Hall was more
important to Oldford that
focusing
on
the
events
in
Florida.
He
said
he
consistently pays attention
to general news events, and
for him the election has
become just another story.
But with finals just around
the corner, study mode has
set in.
While sitting at an Angell
Hall computer finishing one
of his last assignments for
the semester, Engineering
senior K. Mannah Kallon
said he does not believe the
outcome of the election will
affect his life.
But Kallon doesn’t care
what happens in Florida
and the possibility that Vice
President Al Gore could
win the popular vote but
lose the Electoral College
has made him disillusioned
with the system.
“I don’t really care, I
don’t
particularly
have
strong feelings for either
candidate,” Kallon said.
Many students do not
deny the importance of this
historic election but remain
critical towards the media’s
treatment of the election.
“It;s a shame that it’s
taken up so much of the
media’s
attention
that
we’ve forgotten there are
lots of things going on in
the world right now,” Social
Work student Carrie Gorga
said.
Gorga
said
she
is
disappointed
that
news
services
are
neglecting
to discuss possible voting
problems in states other
than Florida.
“They’ve totally ignored
the rest of the country,” she
said, arguing that there are
disenfranchisement issues
the media has neglected.
Gorga
described
the
events in Florida as “a
circus,” saying that she
believes while the election
is important, she does not
understand the need for
24-hour coverage.
“We’ve got a whole other
month until somebody is
sworn in, so I don’t see
what’s the rush,’ Gorga
said.
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during
the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is
available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the
Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long
subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription
rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
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