King: Why FAFSA is critical for students

High school submission rates for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid fell by 12 percent in New York last year, data from the U.S. Department of Education shows.

John King Jr., chancellor of the State University of New York, says that translates to $120 million in federal financial aid for students left on the table.

This current decline could be, in part, explained by a messy and confusing rollout last year. Congressionally mandated technology updates to the form delayed processing student data until March, with financial aid offers not coming through until April.

King says the process has been smoothed since then and early signs point to encouraging FAFSA completion rates for the upcoming year. Still, completing the form remains an important part of paying for higher education, something he encourages every student to do, with free informational sessions from SUNY available throughout the year.

Under King’s leadership, SUNY began the FAFSA Completion Corps in 2023 to help incoming students access financial aid. With a grant from AmeriCorps, the program provides peer-to-peer assistance with current college students aiding prospective ones to understand and complete their FAFSA on time.

The Rochester Beacon spoke with the chancellor, asking him a few questions on FAFSA and the current status of higher education. His responses are below.

ROCHESTER BEACON: Why is completing the FAFSA so important for college students?

JOHN KING Jr.: The FAFSA is critical. It’s really the entry point to access federal and state financial aid and makes it possible to access higher education. We want to make sure every prospective student completes that.

At SUNY, about 52 percent of our current students go tuition-free because of federal and state financial aid. We want to make sure that students have that opportunity. In New York, FAFSA completion is up over last year, which is very encouraging, but we have a long way to go.

ROCHESTER BEACON: How does the FAFSA Completion Corps help with this process?

KING: It’s a great service opportunity for current SUNY students and a great resource for prospective students. There’s a real benefit to having that “near-peer” mentoring relationship.

It is helpful that the students have gone through the experience themselves so it’s fresh in their minds. They are also able to make sure that students get excited about college and can hear about the college experience.

ROCHESTER BEACON: Are there any recent or upcoming developments that are important for prospective college students to know about?

KING: Last year, the governor and the state Legislature worked to expand the state tuition assistance program. We project that 40,000 SUNY students would see increased state financial aid. With more money available than last year, folks should take advantage of that opportunity. And the governor has a proposal for this year’s budget that would provide tuition-free community college for adults 25 to 55 years old in high-demand workforce areas. So we’re continuing to work with Gov. (Kathy) Hochul to find ways to ensure that college is affordable for anyone who wants to pursue it.

ROCHESTER BEACON: When it comes to the current political landscape for education at the federal level, do you see reasons for concern?

KING: We are very concerned about that, particularly about the layoffs. You have about half as many people working at the Education Department as you did on January 1st and they laid off many folks who worked on the FAFSA system. So we are worried that it is vulnerable. The best thing any individual can do is don’t put off completing the FAFSA. Get it done now and make sure you are able to get the aid to which you are entitled. 

Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name.See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].