FAFSA Challenge Winner: Norwich High School (Southern Tier)

Jul 31, 2019 | Blog

In order to help students and families with the college planning process, Norwich High School hosts an annual financial aid night at the beginning of senior year.

The school works collaboratively with SUNY Morrisville to facilitate the completion of the FAFSA by setting up appointments to meet one-on-one with students to ensure they complete it accurately.  School counselors push into the participation in government and economics classes to help students complete scholarship applications, write essays, draft resumes, and complete the FAFSA.

Through a collective emphasis on teamwork and collaboration, the school is able to help students achieve success.

Justin, who will receive the FAFSA Challenge scholarship, is a role model at Norwich High School. He holds himself to a high moral standard, and has been part of the football, indoor track, and baseball teams and also attended Boys State.

Justin plans to attend basic training for the Army Reserves as a combat engineer. He plans to continue his education at SUNY Brockport, where he would like to study business or sports management. Upon completion of his degree, he intends to join the Army as a commissioned officer.

The school won the Challenge for having the greatest improvement among high schools with more than 100 seniors in districts outside of the Big 5.

The Challenge was part of The New York FAFSA Completion Project, a statewide campaign launched by Ed Trust–NY to encourage public high schools to increase the proportion of eligible low-income students who complete the FAFSA.

Explore data for each high school in the state, read more about FAFSA completion strategies being used at New York schools, and find additional resources at NYFAFSAChallenge.org.