Want to increase college enrollment? Start with FAFSA/WASFA applications
Despite having one of the best state financial aid programs in the nation, only 41.5% of 12th graders in Washington state have completed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) so far this year––10 points below the national average of 52.1%. Completing the FAFSA (or WASFA, WA State’s application for students without a federal social security number), remains one of the best predictors for whether a high school senior will attend college. Encouraging students to apply for FAFSA or WASFA increases the likelihood of a student pursuing a postsecondary path.
In fact, seniors who complete the FAFSA are 84% more likely to directly enroll in postsecondary education following their high school graduation. But for seniors from low socioeconomic backgrounds, like the students CSF serves, FAFSA completion is associated with a 127% increase in direct college enrollment. As with all extensions of our College Success Foundation student support pathway, ensuring proper financial aid education is an essential component to improving student outcomes.
United by our drive to improve accessibility to college and career-readiness programming among Washington state students, we joined forces with Washington STEM (Snohomish STEM and NW STEM) and Futures Northwest to develop a unique strategy for increasing FAFSA/WASFA completion rates.
We focused on elevating real student voices in TikTok-style videos that promote awareness of financial aid from state and federal sources. By tailoring these videos to the trending social media platforms most aligned with students’ content consumption habits, we hope to effectively amplify this important educational material as young people consider their post secondary plans.
In total, seven Tik-Tok-style videos (five in English and two in Spanish) were produced, providing valuable summaries and quick tips on why FAFSA/WASFA matters and how to properly submit applications.
If you are, or know of, a practitioner, educator, or student-facing staff member who wishes to better support students in financial aid completion this upcoming year, we invite you to share these resources. These videos can be used in student-to-student influencer campaigns, shared in school news channels and promoted externally with parents and guardians directly:
We are so thankful to our partners, Futures Northwest and Washington STEM (Snohomish STEM and NW STEM) for all the time and effort they contributed to this project!
