Starting October 1st, the 2021-22 FAFSA form became available. This QoD can get that conversation started. 

Answers wil vary.

You can find this answer by clicking on this link here and searching for your school. Use the "Applications Complete" figure for August 31, 2020.

Questions:

• Why is the FAFSA important when it comes to paying for college?
• What percent of seniors in your high school completed the FAFSA? Hint: Take the number of completed FAFSAs and divide by number of 2020 graduates.
• What do you think are some of the reasons that 100% of seniors didn’t complete the FAFSA?
• How did the number of students completing the FAFSA ending 8/31/2020 compare to students completing the form by 8/31/2019? 
• Do you plan on completing the FAFSA? If so, when? Note that October 1st was the first date that you can complete the FAFSA for the 2021-22 school year.

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (U.S. Dept. of Education):

Today, the U.S. Department of Education released the 2021–22 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. This launch comes as the Department continues to provide information, tools, and resources to help students make informed decisions about their education options...The Department provides other tools and resources designed to help students complete and submit the FAFSA form and make informed choices. The Annual Student Loan Acknowledgment provides links to College Scorecard, where students can estimate their post-completion starting salary based on the school they plan to attend and the program in which they will enroll

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Want to dive in deeper on the FAFSA? Check out the NGPF Lesson: Applying for FAFSA or the most recent FinCap Friday, FAFSA in the Fall.

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Want to deepen your content knowledge on FAFSA and financial aid? Amanda will be leading a webinar on Paying for College at 3pm PT on Monday followed by Tim at 4pm PT who will be leading a session the NGPF Arcade game, PAYBACK. Register for both here. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.