SAM Honors National FAFSA Week of Action with FREE Workshop for Students, Parents

Spartanburg Academic Movement has scheduled a free workshop for parents and seniors to receive assistance on completing the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as data shows fewer students have submitted the form this year than last year.  

The workshop is in conjunction with the National FAFSA Week of Action from April 15 to 19 designed to drive FAFSA submissions among high school seniors and returning college students. The FAFSA determines a student’s eligibility for student aid.  

Completing the FAFSA is an important step to higher education as it opens doors and unlocks dreams to a secondary education which strengthens the economy and our society. The U.S. Department of Education has worked to transform the FAFSA, which expands access to federal Pell Grants and other financial aid that makes college accessible to students. The federal government updated the FAFSA for the first time in 40 years including changes to the form, eligibility calculations, and institutional procedures for packaging financial aid. Despite those changes, a delayed rollout and glitches in the updated application have caused national FAFSA completion rates to plummet by 40 percent this year.  

SAM collects education data for Spartanburg County, showing approximately 30 percent fewer students have completed the FAFSA compared to last year. About 53 percent of Spartanburg College seniors completed the FAFSA last year.  

“FAFSA completion is a vital step toward bridging the gap between students’ aspirations and their ability to afford college,” said Meghan Smith, SAM’s Director of Center for Postsecondary Success.  

SAM’s data shows that students who complete the FAFSA before they graduate high school are 3.5 times more likely to enroll in college than those who don’t.  

Register now for the free FAFSA workshop scheduled for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 at the downtown campus of Spartanburg Community College.