Expand AllClick here for a more accessible versionToday, on the final day of #FAFSAWeekofAction,
we salute our Financial Aid Administrators! A profession near and dear to me, your willingness to support Pennsylvania learners achieve their dreams is commendable. We know you're on the front lines this year – we see you and thank you so much for all that you do.
As mentioned, the
PA State Grant deadline is now June 1. Our Pennsylvania Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (PASFAA) members helped to advocate for that.
There is still much work to be done – FAFSA season isn't over yet. Let's keep the momentum going!
Doing something innovative? – let us know and we'll spread the word. Refer back to all of the
resources we've given you this week and remember…we're in this together.
PA FAFSA Go! Dr. Kimberly J. McCurdy
Sign up for the
PA Maslow Statewide Collegiate Basic Needs RoundtableOn this day 4 of #FAFSAWeekofAction, we have some breaking news for you –
the PA State Grant Deadline has been changed to June 1, 2024. This means students now have until June 1 to get their FAFSA completed to be considered for PA State Grant eligibility. Please encourage all hs senior and current postsecondary students to complete their 2024-25 FAFSA as soon as possible.
PHEAA will offer
virtual office hours to assist with FAFSA completion on Wednesdays in May. We'll have more details soon and get them out to the group. Remember that the
PHEAA Higher Education Access Partners are always available for questions. Feel free to reach out to them – not just on Wednesdays.
The Shapiro Administration issued a press release today which stresses the importance of completing a FAFSA to ensure students and families get all of the free money they qualify for to pay for college and make it more affordable. As you know, college affordability is one of the three objections of the
Governor's Blueprint for Higher Education.
Finally, be sure to check out the latest
FAFSA Issues and Alerts page which keeps track of anything that FSA is aware of and the resolution for FAFSA filers.
Please share this information in your networks. If you have missed any of our announcements, check them out in the
email archive on our PA FAFSA Go! website. Good morning, friends and colleagues.
We appreciate all of the work you're doing on the ground to ensure every Pennsylvania learner completes their FAFSA for postsecondary opportunities. We don't want to leave any money on the table! If you're doing something innovative and want to share out with the state, let us know.
Today, we want to recognize our
Pennsylvania School Counselors. We appreciate you and all of the hard work you do every day for all the learners – and particularly for those senior students who need college and career advice. Your job isn't easy. So to all of you, thank you!!
Reach out to a school counselor today and let them know how much you appreciate them!
Shout out to these school districts who boast over a 40% HS senior FAFSA completion rate.
PA FAFSA Go!
Dr. Kimberly J. McCurdy
Good morning –
The #FAFSAWeekofAction Continues!
Be sure you're posting all of your FAFSA completion work on social media with the hashtag #FAFSAWeekofAction so we can re-post and elevate the great work you're doing.
Together, we can make a difference for our Pennsylvania learners.
PA FAFSA Go!
In the spirit of the Financial Pillar of PA MASLOW, we're happy to kick off the #FAFSAWeekofAction in Pennsylvania.
- Shout out to Phil Jago and his crew at Lancaster Public SD for the mention in the USDE Blog Post today!! Great work!
- Widener University also has some terrific events planned for FAFSA Week of Action on their campus!
You can access your FAFSA Week of Action Toolkit from NCAN or FAFSA Fastbreak. We also sent some resources in Friday's PA MASLOW/PA FAFSA Go! email.
Let us know how you're planning to impact FAFSA Completion at your institution, K-12 school, or Community-Based Organization and if you need any support!
PA FAFSA Go!!
Kim
Good morning, PA MASLOW and PA FAFSA Go! friends!
We want to make sure you’re aware that next week is the national FAFSA Week of Action. We know there is a lot happening at your high schools, colleges, trade schools, and community-based organizations. We also have a lot of great things planned so tune in to our social channels and watch your email for some great opportunities to ensure that every learner in Pennsylvania completes a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and that they don’t leave free money on the table for postsecondary opportunities next year.
Highlights include:
As we prepare, take a listen to this podcast video from PHEAA’s Higher Education Access Corner and host Tiffanie DeVan - EP43 - Spring Into Action: Are You Ready? (youtube.com) FAFSA delays have made it harder for students to choose the right college or career school. Join Tiffanie as she shares which factors to consider when picking the perfect school.
Register or promote this line-by-line FAFSA Completion Webinar hosted by State Senator Maria Collett on Tuesday, April 16, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. This free, virtual webinar will guide students and families through the step-by-step process of filing the FAFSA and PA State Grant application for the 2024-25 academic year and answer questions about the process.
Check out the School Counselor Toolkit with resources and even morning announcements to share!
And speaking of School Counselors, sign up for the “Coming Down to the Wire!” webinar presented by PHEAA Access Partner, Amy Sawdey, and PDE’s School Counselor Advisor, Karen Rubican for FAFSA Tips and Tricks.
There’s still time to register for next Thursday’s 1 p.m. webinar from Benefits Data Trust featuring panelists from Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Louisiana and the Wyatt AI Chatbot Demonstration. Wyatt is a free FAFSA assistant you and every family should know. Wyatt AI Chatbot information and registration link.
Also, We’re celebrating school districts with at least a 40% senior FAFSA completion rate, promoting tools and resources, and taking action to make sure Pennsylvania learners are ready for whatever their postsecondary goals entail. Stay tuned for future listening sessions and office hours as well.
Check out additional resources at PA FAFSA Go!, NCAN’s FAFSA Toolkit, PHEAA, and Federal Student Aid.
We are in this together! Let’s FOCUS on completion – Pennsylvania, FAFSA Go!
Let me know if you have any questions or if you have other events/resources you want to promote.
Have a terrific weekend.
Kim
Good afternoon, FAFSA Champions.
You may have seen the latest FAFSA tracker for high school seniors that NCAN published. Pennsylvania is doing better than we were a week ago; however, we're still down over 43 percent fewer FAFSAs completed year-over-year.
Yes, there was a delay in availability of the application.
Yes, freshman students won't be packaged until FSA releases the FAFSA data to the field (mid-March is their latest information) and IHEs can test and then package students' financial aid.
No, students should not panic! We know they are, and we've been fielding their calls. Whether you are at an IHE, a high school, or even a community-based organization, let's reassure students that it will be ok. Schools will be nimble and do the best they can. In the meantime, all senior high school students and returning college learners should complete their FAFSA without delay.
Please let folks know that if they are in the greater Harrisburg area, they can still register for our PDE/PHEAA FAFSA completion event. PHEAA Access Partners will be on hand to answer questions and help ensure a speedy completion. And check out the PHEAA completion events statewide if you're not in the area.
Please promote resources broadly and share with someone else today!
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, PA Department of Education, also representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University, also representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Hello PA FAFSA Go! advocates,
We hope your FAFSA season is going well, and your students are successfully completing their forms. If you're in central PA, please let students and their families know about an opportunity to complete their FAFSA at the PA State Library on February 20. See the attached invitation that includes a sign up link and pass it along.
If you're not in central PA, check out some other publicly available completion sessions.
We know there have been a variety of announcements lately, the latest regarding ISIR records to IHEs. This means packages from the IHEs to students will be delayed, but in the meantime, let's use every opportunity to assist them in completing their form. Let us know what you need and how we can help.
Wishing you a terrific weekend.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, PA Department of Education, also representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University, also representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Dear PA FAFSA Go! team,
As you probably know, the 2024-25 FAFSA is available after a few hiccups at the soft launch. According to NCAN, The class of 2023 - just in Pennsylvania - left $129,007,850 in Pell grants on the table.
Here is a listing of publicly available FAFSA completion events throughout the state. Don't forget to access resources from PHEAA or NCAN to assist you, and reach out to your PHEAA Access Partner with any questions. If you need assistance putting together an event at your school or institution, let us know and we'll do our best to connect you to someone in the field who can assist.
What does support look like for you? Let us know.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, PA Department of Education, also representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University, also representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Good morning fellow PA FAFSA Go-ers!
As you may have seen, Federal Student Aid (FSA) has announced they will launch the 2024-25 FAFSA by December 31. While this is not a surprise, they have indicated schools won't have access to data until mid-to-late January 2024.
What does this mean for your students?
It means they need to get ready by making sure they have an authenticated FSA ID, and if they are dependent, at least one parent must also have an authenticated FSA ID. They can establish these now. Over the Thanksgiving break is the perfect time!
The FAFSA may launch a couple of days earlier than December 31, but at this point, let your students know that they should be on the lookout over their holiday break. Once they complete it – hang tight.
Be sure to monitor these resources for the latest and greatest. We will also let you know any additional information as it becomes available.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or need any additional resources or to be connected to a partner in your community.
We wish you a terrific Thanksgiving break with family and friends.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, PA Department of Education, also representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University, also representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Hello Focus on FAFSA Friends!
As October draws to a close, we're very much aware that the 2024-25 FAFSA isn't available, but that doesn't mean students have to sit around waiting. This is the perfect time to dust off those FSA IDs or create new accounts AND engage with Benefit's Data Trust's new AI FAFSA Help Tool, Wyatt.
This free version of Wyatt is now live for students to sign up for reminders and help with the FSA ID process. Educators can gain access and share Wyatt with their students. Wyatt will also be ready to support FAFSA questions as soon as it launches in December.
They even have some customizable features for your institution.
If you have any questions or want more information, you can email BDT at
highered@bdtrust.org.
As always, reach out to us if you need any help completing FSA IDs or would like connected to additional supports and resources.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, PA Department of Education, also representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University, also representing PASFAA
Contact us at
RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Greetings PA FAFSA Go! Partners:
It's been a minute, but we're please to announce that we're back and ready to help you FOCUS on FAFSA this Fall!
Obviously, the FOCUS has to be a little different this year –
FOCUS on FAFSA Partners commit to an FSAID Focus this fall; Obtaining online access for all students and parents; Cultivating admission offers and scholarship applications; Understanding the Better FAFSA® application and process; and to Students submitting the FAFSA in December.
Let's make sure all of our students get their FSAIDs and obtain online access for themselves and also their parents. As they're cultivating those admission and scholarship offers and applications, it's important to understand the Better FAFSA process and make sure students are ready when it becomes available this December.
There are some terrific resources on the National College Attainment Network's Better FAFSA Training Toolkit which are updated frequently. We'll be sharing out additional resources as well.
In the meantime, make sure you reach out to your PHEAA Higher Education Access Partner to schedule in-person or virtual meetings and get their resources for your families as well. And be sure to tell all your friends to FOCUS on FAFSA with us!
If you need any connections or have questions, don't hesitate to send us an email.
**If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please let us know and we can remove you from the listserv.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, PA Department of Education, also representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Good morning, FOCUS friends.
In case you missed
this announcement last night – FSA has provided a Roadmap to the new simplified 2024-25 FAFSA, stating it will be available in December 2023.
Two times in one week hearing from us! Good stuff!
Let's keep the momentum going and certainly reach out if you need any assistance helping your students complete their 2023-24 FAFSA right now.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at
RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Greetings FOCUS on FAFSA Partners,
As we welcome spring, we are also aware that we are nearing the PA State Grant Deadline for FAFSA completion – May 1. We’re just 6 weeks away!
How have your efforts been? Have you seen increases in completion? Do you still need some assistance to help your students meet the deadline?
As you can see from the updated heat maps from PHEAA, FAFSA completion is still up in most of the state year-over-year, but we know there is still work to be done.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need materials or some additional expertise to put together some final FAFSA completion sessions for the season. Visit our PA FAFSA Go! website to get access to the PHEAA Higher Education Access Partners throughout the state or email us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov and we’ll help connect you to someone in your neck of the woods.
Let’s make sure no free dollars are left on the table for our students attending postsecondary institutions in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Let's keep the momentum going, friends!
If you follow me on LinkedIn, you'll see I was invited to Millersville University to participate in their Financial Aid Frenzy, which capped off a week of celebrations to encourage all students to complete their FAFSA application. There were balloons, food, and a celebratory cake in addition to all of the great information provided by the university and PHEAA. If you're doing something similar,
email us so we can promote your event and share best practices with all of the partners.
Additionally, if you're new to FOCUS-ing on FAFSA, our archived list of emails is now available on the
website. Be sure to take a look to review any resources you may have missed.
How can we help you?
- If you need a connection to help facilitate a FAFSA completion event at your school or CBO, let us know and we'll connect you!
- If you need brochures and materials to pass out at your school or at events, let us know and we'll make sure they're shipped to you posthaste.
- Have a tricky FAFSA completion question? Send it along! We have a network of experts who are happy to share their wealth of knowledge.
- Have a student with an unusual situation or circumstance you haven't seen before? Again, sent it along! We're happy to help facilitate a discussion so that each situation is addressed appropriately.
We're here for you! Please don't hesitate to reach out. And tell your colleagues we're here to help them, too!
All the best!
Kim, Alyssa, Will, and Karen – your PA FAFSA Go! Task Force
Email us at -
RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Greetings FOCUS on FAFSA partners!
We hope this email finds you well. We want to welcome all the new partners at the table, as well as those of you who have been here from the beginning.
Coming soon – we'll have all the messages we've sent out on behalf of PA FAFSA Go! archived on the
website. Stay tuned if you've missed some or just joined us.
Additionally, we're including an invite from PCPR University (see attachment). The Understanding Financial Aid Offers presentation was so robust, they had to continue the conversation. Register to participate on February 21, 2023.
As you may have seen, Federal Student Aid has indicated that they will release the 2024-25 FAFSA between October 1, 2023 and January 1, 2024. NASFAA has provided
this information. Be sure to stay tuned as we navigate to a simplified application.
In the meantime, please encourage your students – new and current postsecondary learners – to complete their 2023-24 FAFSA application by the
PA State Grant Deadline Date of May 1, 2023.
As always, please continue to
share your best practices and your institution, high school, or CBO might be featured on future PA FAFSA Go! updates!
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at
RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Greetings fellow FAFSA advocates:
Passing along two things for you:
- You're invited to attend an upcoming training on February 1, offered through the Philly College Prep Roundtable's PCPR University on Understanding Financial Aid offers (see attachment for registration information);
- Please see the attached PHEAA heat maps that show year-over-year FAFSA completion for all, for undergraduates, and for graduates by county. These are popular items to get a good visual and then compare to some of the local work being done.
Don't forget to visit our resources at our PA FAFSA Go! website.
As always, spread the word about the PA FAFSA Go! campaign and don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything as you navigate FAFSA season. Don't forget the PA State Grant deadline is May 1, 2023.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Greetings PA FAFSA Go! partners and collaborators.
We're excited to share with you the latest and greatest updates around our PA FAFSA Go! efforts. The task force recently spoke with Tiffanie DeVan, a Higher Education Access Partner at PHEAA, who hosts the Higher Education Access Corner podcast. We highlighted the campaign, the partnerships, and gave an update as to where FAFSA completion stands in Pennsylvania. Click on the link in the picture to listen.
We currently have 104 partners across the state FOCUSing on FAFSA.
As we continue to share best practices with you, consider how you can add to what you're doing or suggest to other partners how they can get started.
- PA CareerLink has provided train-the-trainer programs to their staff to ensure folks who are signing up for benefits get information about FAFSA completion for possible retraining/educational opportunities.
- In addition to reminders to current students to complete their FAFSA and offering FAFSA completion opportunities to incoming students, Penn State University utilized financial aid and bursar staff to go into the first-year seminar classes to educate students about financial literacy and the value of FAFSA completion. They utilize the PHEAA resources to provide additional literature.
Please continue to share your success stories with us. It's literally 3 questions - easy-peasy. 😊
Remember that the PA State Grant deadline is May 1, 2023. All students need to get their 2023-24 FAFSA or renewal FAFSA completed to ensure consideration for PA State Grant eligibility.
As always, please reach out if you need something or if you have ideas on how we can support you or other folks that are not yet connected to PA FAFSA Go!
Let's make sure our Pennsylvania learners aren't leaving any free money on the table this year!
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Dear FOCUS on FAFSA Partner:
Happy New Year!
I hope this email finds you renewed and refreshed and ready to Go! PA FAFSA Go! that is. *chuckles appreciated*
With just four months to go until the PA State Grant deadline, I'm pleased to share with you the new winter renewal campaign just announced by Federal Student Aid which includes emails and social information to assist your efforts to have students complete the FAFSA. It's not only about having our incoming students complete their initial application. We also need to make sure that our returning learners are completing their renewal FAFSA application by May 1, 2023.
Thank you for continuing to share your best practices! I want to share a few we've received so far including:
- Manheim Township School District creates a QR code that links to a Google Drive with all things FAFSA. The QR code is distributed throughout the year to all seniors and their parents to access from any of their devices.
- Berwick School District has school counselors go into senior English classes at the beginning of the year to have students complete their FSA IDs. Their homework: assist one parent or guardian with completing their FSA ID.
- Butler Co. Community College offers FAFSA workshops through their Continuing Education Program which is a catalog mailed to a very large population of the community.
- Geneva College utilized the PA FAFSA Go! Toolkit materials from PHEAA and had students fill out the trophy cards to enter for a book voucher.
Whatever you're doing – we appreciate your efforts on behalf of our Pennsylvania learners.
Please share these resources with your colleagues and friends. Encourage everyone to become a FOCUS on FAFSA partner.
Let's make sure our Pennsylvania learners aren't leaving any free money on the table this year!
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
The S in FOCUS on FAFSA stands for SUPPORTING students and parents in completing their FAFSA for 2023-24.
Now's your chance to share best practices and show how you're a FOCUS on FAFSA leader in Pennsylvania.
Complete this 3-question survey by December 31, and we'll share your responses, and even highlight some of them, on the PA FAFSA Go! website.
If you haven't visited PA FAFSA Go! – we invite you to take a look around. There are a lot of resources for you, including this one from the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable which is a comprehensive FAFSA training video.
We now have 100+ partners FOCUSing on FAFSA completion within Pennsylvania. Thank you for ensuring our Pennsylvania learners don't leave free money on the table.
We wish you the best holiday season and happy new year. Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions and we look forward to connecting with you soon.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Good afternoon, Fellow FAFSA FOCUSers (I don't think that's a word, but I liked the alliteration).
As we work to keep momentum going for FAFSA completion through the holidays, I wanted to draw your attention to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency's (PHEAA) YouTube channel that features short videos that you can use to help explain the financial aid process, what's available, and how to apply.
Additionally, make sure you're reaching out to colleagues for anything you need to enhance what you're doing.
- If you work at a high school or local community-based organization and don't have time to complete FAFSAs individually with students, ask one of the PHEAA Access Partners to co-host a FAFSA Completion Session with your students and families. If they're booked, you can reach out to a local college or university financial aid office. Often these folks are more than willing to spend some time with your students. It doesn't matter where they're thinking of attending!
- Do you want to give your students materials to take home to their parents? Whether you're at a high school, CBO, or institution of higher education, PHEAA offers a variety of publications that you can order to have on hand – at no charge. They even have a PA FAFSA Go! toolkit featuring several of their most popular publications
- Other ways to make it fun?
- Have your students complete the trophy cards (available with the toolkits mentioned previously) and divide students up by homerooms or random groups. Whichever group has the most completions gets a pizza party.
- Complete the FAFSA in parts – do the FSA ID one day, complete the student portion of the FAFSA another day. At each benchmark, give the students a reward (pencils, notebooks, school bookstore bucks, etc.).
- Provide FAFSA completion materials at open houses, sporting events, or after school programs.
- If you're at an IHE and have student workers, ask them to use the peer-to-peer guide to implement your own FAFSA campaign. If you're at a high school, create a student ambassador position so students help each other get the assistance for FAFSA completion they need while creating comradery.
We look forward to hearing from you and providing you more information in the coming months of the campaign.
Thank you for committing to FOCUS on FAFSA for today's Pennsylvania learners.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Good afternoon,
Thank you again for continuing to keep your FOCUS on FAFSA.
The C in FOCUS stands for compiling resources. In addition to the many resources you'll find on our PA FAFSA Go! website, I wanted to give you the website for Form Your Future FAFSA Tracker. There's a lot of great data here, as well as a link to the USDE FAFSA tracker.
If you're at a secondary school, you can see FAFSA completions at your high school, year-over-year.
I'm happy to report that Pennsylvania's data show that as of November 11, we're up 1.4% in FAFSA completions as a whole (according to PHEAA's data). Let's keep up the momentum.
Don't hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance scheduling a FAFSA completion event at your school or with your organization. We're happy to make connections to the experts who are doing this great work. And tell your colleagues to sign up to FOCUS on FAFSA as well!
All the best!
Kim, Alyssa, Will, and Karen – your PA FAFSA Go! Task Force
Email us at - RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Thank you for your commitment to FOCUS on FAFSA. You are joining a network of at least 73 partners (and counting!) in Pennsylvania. As our network grows, we'll ask you to share resources, let us know if you need resources, and keep us updated on the progress of your FAFSA campaigns.
As you know, our website is full of information that we hope you'll utilize throughout the year. One specific item of interest is the PA FAFSA Go! toolkit that PHEAA is offering from their online order site. Just click on which partner you represent, click continue, and scroll down to the PA FAFSA Go! Kit.
Here you can order the following brochures as a kit (pictured below). Included are the FAFSA Tipsheet, FSA ID Bookmark, Scholarship Tipsheet, and Trophy Card for students. The items will ship directly to you in a few days. They are free of charge.
We look forward to hearing from you and providing you more information in the coming months of the campaign.
Thank you for committing to FOCUS on FAFSA for today's Pennsylvania learners.
Sincerely,
Kim, Will, Karen, and Alyssa – your PA FAFSA Go! Taskforce
Kim McCurdy, PA Department of Education
Will Lindsey, PHEAA
Karen Rubican, Canon-McMillan High School representing PACAC and PSCA
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University representing PASFAA
Contact us at RA-EDPAFAFSAGO@pa.gov
Greetings,
It's that time of year again – FAFSA 2023-24 is available for students to complete. That's why we're launching PA FAFSA Go!
Over the past several years, millions of free dollars have been left on the table by our Pennsylvania learners, and so we're launching a collaborative campaign to ensure everyone in PA has access to resources and information to assist all learners to complete their FAFSA.
PA Department of Education (PDE) has teamed up with PA Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), PA Association for Student Financial Aid Administrators (PASFAA), PA Association for College Admission Counseling (PACAC), and PA School Counselors Association (PSCA) to ensure everything we're doing in regard to FAFSA completion across the state is tied together.
Visit our PA FAFSA Go! website to learn more and to make the commitment to FOCUS on FAFSA. Your partnership will ensure access to experts, resources, and support for FAFSA completion.
Let's ensure everyone completes their FAFSA without delay!