April 2, 2019 - LANSING, Mich. – More than 20,000 Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) were submitted by students at 293 partner schools across the state as part of the Michigan College Access Network’s (MCAN) 2018-2019 College Cash Campaign.
Each year, MCAN coordinates with participating schools to encourage support around students’ completion of the FAFSA and scholarship applications from Nov. 1 through March 1. The promotion aims to help eligible students find financial aid to pursue education beyond high school and is one of several statewide initiatives that help students navigate the college-going process during their senior year. In total, 20,098 applications were submitted.
This year, MCAN teamed up with national scholarship platform provider, Scholly, which offers an award-winning, personalized scholarship matching and application tracking tool, to help high school seniors find money for college. Nearly 10,000 access codes were distributed to students.
“We know that filing the FAFSA is one of the leading indicators of whether or not a student will pursue college and that is why we work so hard to ensure that every high school senior has the opportunity to do so,” said Ryan Fewins-Bliss, interim executive director of the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN). “We believe that every student is college material, and we do not want perceived affordability to keep anyone from pursuing postsecondary education. The FAFSA is the only way for students to unlock access to federal loans and grants, statewide scholarships and grants, and often need and merit-based institutional and community scholarships and grants.”
The FAFSA is a free application that helps students determine their eligibility for financial aid. The form determines the amount of money a family is expected to contribute to the price of attending a postsecondary institution. This is used by the federal government, colleges and universities to determine what financial aid should be offered each student as grants or loans. The Michigan FAFSA tracker is here.
As part of the 2018-2019 College Cash Campaign, 293 partner schools participated to improve their FAFSA completion rate, with 84 schools achieving a 60 percent completion rate or higher.
Top five schools by percentage rate of applications as of March 1, 2019:
- Taylor Preparatory High School
- JC/LISD Academy: A Regional Middle College
- Rogers City High School
- Alanson Public School
- Detroit International Academy for Young Women
A complete list of high-achieving College Cash Campaign sites is here.
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About Michigan College Access Network (MCAN)
As the leader in the state’s college access movement, MCAN has a mission 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 postsecondary certificate, bringing Michigan’s official 2019 attainment rate to 45%. MCAN’s goal is to increase Michigan’s postsecondary educational attainment rate to 60% by 2030.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Christopher Tremblay
Email: christopher@micollegeaccess.org
Cell: 814-504-5650
Nearly 300 schools participated in a statewide initiative to help students apply for financial aid.