Did you know that students can earn a micro-scholarship on RaiseMe for completing the FAFSA? All seniors on RaiseMe are eligible to earn as much as $4,000 for completing the application before the deadline!

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is the first step to unlock not only federal financial aid, but state and college aid as well. Each year, the federal government provides more than $150 billion in financial aid for college or career school, but you have to complete the FAFSA to be considered. A report from the National College Access Network found that, for the class of 2018, 60.9% of high school graduates completed the FAFSA by June 29.

We want to see all high school students have the opportunity to be considered for this aid, so we’ve created a resource guide that describes the process and how to indicate you’ve completed the FAFSA on RaiseMe.

RaiseMe FAFSA Micro-Scholarship: What to Know to Unlock Financial Aid

Download the resource guide here and share with your school community.

You can complete the FAFSA online at https://fafsa.ed.gov. You can also access the application via smartphone by downloading the mobile app; simply search for FAFSA in the Google Play store or iOS App store. The application opens on October 1, 2018.

Seniors – work with your parents and counselors to get the following ready:

• Social Security Number
• Federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned
• Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable)
• Records of untaxed income (if applicable)
• FSA ID to sign electronically. You can create that ID here: https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm

The deadline to complete the FAFSA varies by state. You can look up the deadline that applies to you at this website: https://fafsa.ed.gov/deadlines.htm

We know the class of 2019 will have the best FAFSA completion rate yet!