October 1st marks the first day Class of 2021 students can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). School District of Lancaster encourages all graduating students to complete the FAFSA, even if they aren’t sure about postgraduation plans. An estimate from a 2018 report estimates Pennsylvania students missed out on approximately $88 million dollars in pell grants in 2018. This accounts only for federal grants for students from low-income households, and doesn’t include the state grants and low interest federal loans for which thousands more students are eligible.
Several efforts are underway to assist with FAFSA completion:
- FAFSA Completion Days scheduled for October 1 & 2
- Request a 1:1 meeting with the Future Ready Center to complete the FAFSA
- The FAFSA Phone Blitz is scheduled for October 7th. All parents of Class of 2021 students will receive a phone call asking them to schedule a FAFSA completion appointment.
- All students who complete the FAFSA before October 31st are entered into a raffle for a $100 Amazon gift card
- All students who complete the FAFSA get a free “Form Your Future” t-shirt
- Several resources and guides on completing the FAFSA are available on the SDoL website
Hear from Dr. Rau, Ms. Torres, and SDoL graduates on why completing the FAFSA is so important.