Financial Aid for College: High School Toolkit
Financial Aid for College: High School Toolkit
Extensive research shows that high schools can make a significant difference in helping college hopefuls who are low-income, immigrants, and first-generation college students complete the FAFSA and other state financial aid applications.
In this toolkit, you’ll find 10 evidence-based best practices your school can use to support all eligible seniors and their families to complete their FAFSA, NYS Application for TAP, NYS DREAM Act, and Excelsior Scholarship applications.
Let’s make sure no senior in New York misses out on a single dollar of the financial aid for which they qualify! Explore our resources for school leaders and learn about new changes to the FAFSA that take effect this year.
Download the full Toolkit as a PDF
10 Evidence-based best practices
Checklist for
schools
FAQs
Process for completing financial aid for college applications
Trainings for school staff
10 evidence-based practices to support all your seniors to complete their financial aid for college applications
Hold a financial aid for college completion night
Hold regular financial aid for college completion office hours
Dedicate class time to financial aid application completion
Send regular letters or emails to parents/families
Post updates in school newsletters, emails or newspapers
Send regular texts or robocalls to families
Post regularly on your school’s social media
Use data to track your school’s progress toward full FAFSA completion
Post information about financial aid for college completion on your website
Send school staff to a financial aid training
Step One: Hold a financial aid for college completion night
Hold a school-wide financial aid for college completion night in partnership with a community-based organization (CBO) that has trusted relationships with students and their families. It may be particularly helpful to partner with a CBO that has expertise supporting students who are undocumented with college access. Trained school staff should be available to support students and families as they complete their FAFSA, NYS Application for TAP, and NYS DREAM Act applications and respond to verification requests.
How-to guide
Financial aid completion night family communication templates in English
Financial aid completion night family communication templates in Spanish
Step Two: Hold regular financial aid for college completion office hours
Hold regular office hours at least once per month for students and families to receive in-person or virtual support from school counselors or community experts to complete their FAFSA, NYS Application for TAP, NYS DREAM Act, and Excelsior Scholarship applications and respond to verification requests.
How-to guide
Financial aid for college completion office hours family communication templates in English
Financial aid for college completion office hours family communication templates in Spanish
Step Three: Dedicate class time to financial aid for college application completion
Set aside some class time each week – during homeroom or study halls for example – for students to work on their financial aid applications (and other postsecondary planning) and respond to verification requests.
How-to guide
Download sample lesson plans
Step Four: Send regular letters or emails to parents/families
Send monthly letters or emails to parents/families with reminders about the FAFSA, NYS Application for TAP, NYS DREAM Act, and Excelsior Scholarship applications as well as information about upcoming opportunities to get support to complete those materials and respond to verification requests.
Templates in English
Templates in Spanish
Step Five: Post updates in school newsletters, emails, and newspapers
Include regular updates in your school newsletter, emails and newspaper about the FAFSA, NYS Application for TAP, NYS DREAM Act, and Excelsior Scholarship applications as well as information about upcoming opportunities to get support to complete those materials and respond to verification requests.
Templates in English
Templates in Spanish
Step Six: Send regular texts and robocalls to families
Using your school or district’s text or robocall system, send out at least one update per month to families about financial aid completion and responses to verification requests, as well as to drive participation to your financial aid for college completion night and office hours.
Templates in English
Templates in Spanish
Step Seven: Post regularly on your school’s social media
Post regularly on your school’s social media accounts about the FAFSA, NYS Application for TAP, NYS DREAM Act, and Excelsior Scholarship applications as well as information about upcoming opportunities to complete those materials and respond to verification requests.
Templates in English
Templates in Spanish
Step Eight: Use data to track your school’s progress toward full FAFSA completion
Regularly check in on your school’s progress toward full FAFSA completion using our www.NYFAFSAChallenge.org website. You should also join the NYS FAFSA Completion Initiative data access program organized by the state’s Higher Education Services Corporation to get student-level completion data. This information should be used to track how well your school’s efforts are working and target resources to individual students and families who need support.
How-to guide
Step Nine: Add a section to your school website with information about financial aid for college completion
In a prominent place on your website, post information about the importance of financial aid for college completion, a list of the supports your school is offering to students, and links to resources that students and families can use to help them complete their applications.
Templates in English
Templates in Spanish
Step Ten: Ensure that your school counselor and at least 2-3 other school staff attend a training about how to support students to complete their financial aid for college applications
Whether school staff have decades of experience with financial aid for college applications, or are just starting out, trainings help you support students and families to navigate the process. They will usually walk you through the online forms, highlight changes from previous years, provide opportunities for you to practice responding to complex questions or scenarios, and highlight common pitfalls.
Annual training and retraining for staff will be especially useful over the next few years as the FAFSA undergoes significant changes passed by Congress in late 2021.
If you know about a training that should be added to our list, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll add it to the list!