City high school grads are leaving $50 million in federal college grants on the table each year — and at least one official says the public schools should do something about it.
City Controller Scott Stringer sent a strongly worded letter schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña on Nov. 29, saying 67% of city grads in 2017 completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which is required for federally guaranteed Pell grants and college loans.
That’s up from 63% in 2016, but it’s not good enough, Stringer charges.
“We have to fight for every dollar,” he said.
“That means doing outreach like never before to parents and students at a time when the state is making more money available,” he added.
Stringer’s claim that two-thirds of city grads filled out FAFSA applications in 2017 is based on a federal Education Department report published online Oct. 31.
He derived his total of Pell grant money that’s unclaimed by eligible city grads from the city Education Department’s website.
“It has been estimated that nearly $50 million in Pell grant awards alone goes untapped by otherwise qualified city seniors each year,” states a message posted Nov. 9 on the city schools’ Morning Bell blog.
City Education Department spokesman Will Mantell said school officials have made a number of efforts to increase the number of students submitting FAFSA requests.
“We’ve launched a citywide Financial Aid Awareness Month, a FAFSA guide for students and families in 10 languages, a FAFSA completion data tool for school staff, a college access text-messaging campaign and a College Access for All initiative,” Mantell said.