Three schools received $10,000 in cash awards as part of the governor’s FAFSA Challenge

LANSING, Mich. – Thirteen Michigan high schools that produced outstanding FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) completion rates by March 1 have been recognized by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan College Access Network.

The College Cash Campaign, a FAFSA completion initiative from the Michigan College Access Network, ran from Nov. 1 through March 1. During that time, 49,128 FAFSAs were filed by 2020 graduating seniors in nearly 400 participating Michigan high schools.

As of April 15, the state FAFSA completion rate was 49.1%, up nearly one percentage point from this same time in 2019. Filing the FAFSA is considered a leading indicator of whether students will pursue college. According to the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), 90% of high school seniors who complete the FAFSA attend college directly from high school, compared to 50% of non-completers.

The three high schools with the largest annual growth in FAFSA completions in Michigan each received a $10,000 cash award for their outstanding efforts:

In addition, those schools will receive a visit from the governor or lieutenant governor in the fall.

“I want to congratulate all of the schools that exceeded their FAFSA completion goal and every student who filled out their form,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. “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. I also want to thank MCAN for their partnership. I look forward to working with them as we ensure students across the state have access to a postsecondary education.”

An additional 10 schools were recognized for the highest completion rate in their region. The top school in 10 geographic regions in Michigan are:

SCHOOL                                                           CITY

Pickford High School                                             Pickford

Johannesburg-Lewiston High School                        Johannesburg

St. Patrick Catholic School                                     Portland

All Saints Central High School                                Bay City

Harbor Beach Community High School                     Harbor Beach

J.W. Sexton High School                                       Lansing

Bridgman High School                                          Bridgman

Summerfield High School                                      Petersburg

University High                                                    Ferndale

Frontier International Academy                               Detroit

ABOUT THE GOVERNOR’S FAFSA CHALLENGE

In December 2019, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the statewide FAFSA Challenge to increase the number of students completing the FAFSA and scholarship applications. The challenge included partnerships with the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, State of Michigan Student Scholarships and Grants, Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Detroit Regional Chamber.

“We are proud of the 40 high schools that exceeded the 75% FAFSA completion goal months ahead of schedule,” said Ryan Fewins-Bliss, executive director of MCAN. “We encourage schools to use this momentum to continue to achieve and exceed this goal. College can be affordable when students take advantage of federal Pell grants, state aid and institutional aid – most of which require filing the FAFSA.”

The FAFSA is a free application for students to access federal and state financial aid. It’s used by the federal government, the state of Michigan and colleges to determine eligibility for grants, scholarships and loans. The form determines the amount of money a family is expected to contribute to the price of attending a postsecondary institution.

Michigan’s final official FAFSA completion rate for the Class of 2020 will be calculated based on FAFSAs filed through June 30. An additional 28,342 high school seniors need to complete their FAFSA by June 30 for Michigan to reach the goal of 75%. As of April 3, the state of Michigan was ranked 17th in the nation for FAFSA completions. FAFSA applications should be filed at fafsa.gov.

ABOUT THE MICHIGAN COLLEGE ACCESS NETWORK (MCAN)
As the leader in the state’s college access movement, MCAN’s mission is to increase Michigan’s college readiness, participation and completion rates, particularly among low-income students, first-generation college-going students and students of color. For the eighth year in a row, Michigan’s postsecondary educational attainment rate has increased – from 35.7% of 25-to-64-year-olds possessing at least an associate degree in 2008, to 41% in 2018. Additionally, it is estimated another 4% of Michiganders have a high-quality certificate, bringing Michigan’s official attainment rate to 45% as of 2019. It is MCAN’s goal to increase Michigan’s postsecondary educational attainment rate to 60% by 2030. For more information, visit micollegeaccess.org.   

###