{"id":85457,"date":"2018-10-02T10:23:17","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T20:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=85457"},"modified":"2019-04-10T16:09:08","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T02:09:08","slug":"cash-for-college-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2018\/10\/02\/cash-for-college-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawai\u02bbi students encouraged to participate in Cash for College Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Molokaʻi<\/span> High School had the highest percentage of seniors completing the FAFSA<\/abbr> among all participating schools in the last Cash for College challenge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Department of Education<\/a> is partnering with Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> P–20<\/a> and the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> to promote a campaign to help make college more affordable for students. The Cash for College Challenge encourages high school seniors to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

More Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> public high schools are participating in this year\u2019s Cash for College Challenge, the FAFSA<\/abbr> helps students identify available financial aid. The application is required when applying for federal student grants, work-study, loans and scholarships, including those offered by the state, schools and private organizations.<\/p>\n

“Each year, millions of free federal grants dollars are left unclaimed in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” said Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> P–20 Executive Director Stephen Schatz<\/strong>. “This aid could have helped more of our Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> students attend college. We need to do everything we can to help make college more affordable for students and families.”<\/p>\n

The UH<\/abbr> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise Scholarship<\/a>, which provides free in-state tuition dollars to fill the financial gap for qualified UH<\/abbr> community college students with financial need, requires completion of FAFSA<\/abbr>. Last year, this scholarship awarded over $1.7 million to approximately 1,500 UH<\/abbr> community college students to help make college more affordable.<\/p>\n