As there’s still time for potential college-going students to fill out their FAFSA, WAICU has partnered with the Fair Opportunity Project with financial support from Ascendium Education Group in a campaign to increase FAFSA completions.

As of April 19, 2024, the FAFSA completion rate among high school seniors nationwide was down 30.7 percent compared to last academic year. In  Wisconsin, only 29.5 percent of the high school class of 2024 has completed their FAFSA, down more than 8,000 completions from the same time last year.

Filling out the FAFSA is a crucial step for students seeking financial assistance for college, as it determines eligibility for federal and state grants, loans, and work-study funds. Without the FAFSA information, institutions are not able to release full financial aid packages. This is particularly challenging for private colleges, as students make decisions on attendance, based on their grants, scholarships, and loan packages, which greatly reduce their net cost of attending one of our Wisconsin Private Colleges.

In most years, students have this information well in advance of the May 1 National Decision Day. This year, however, colleges are anticipating delays into the summer. This delay has implications on higher education enrollment, college attainment rates, and the future of the workforce across the country.

WAICU has partnered with the Fair Opportunity Project to increase FAFSA completions. The Fair Opportunity Project provides free one-on-one FAFSA completion sessions. Current students at WAICU institutions are also participating in a TikTok campaign to raise awareness about how financial aid benefits students on our campuses. WAICU also participated in the April 15 to 19 National FAFSA Week of Action, sending outreach information to high school counselors and statewide media across the state.

If you are a student looking for help with FAFSA filing and college applications, check out the Fair Opportunity Project for more information.

Or, email Rebecca Larson, WAICU executive vice president for external relations.