BUFFALO, N.Y. — Today, SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. announced that 122,000 SUNY students had not yet filled out their FAFSA forms.
The form is how students receive federal student aid. Two schools in Western New York report that they are doing well when it comes to their students filling out the forms.
SUNY Niagara credits its admissions staff along with a SUNY-provided resource, Trellis. The company contacts students who have not yet completed the forms through text, call, and mail.
Once they get in touch with a student they can provide assistance or guidance as the student works through the paperwork.
When it comes to the importance of filing the FAFSA, Vice President for Student Services at SUNY Niagara, Alissa Shugats Cummings, said "It's important for students to complete FAFSA for a couple of reasons. One of them is to see if they are eligible for any grant-based aid to pay their tuition and fees, another is to see if they are eligible for student loans, and finally to see if they are eligible for any scholarship funds because many scholarships require FAFSA completion,".
As to why students may not be filling it out, Randyll P. Bowen, the Vice President for Enrollment Management at Buffalo State University said, "I think students get intimidated by what they have to put in, how they have to put the information, more importantly, the worry about making a mistake, and what the implications of that could be,".
Buffalo State University is also doing well in terms of students completing the FAFSA. They have a group of current students trained to help new and current students fill it out. "They've been working really hard, to teach students how to access their FSA ID, also access the FAFSA and help them and support them in completing it." Bowen said, "What's interesting about it is I think the students have gotten a sense of self-gratification. That it's been a process for them that was very confusing but now is not as confusing and more importantly they get some gratification in helping other students complete that task,".