Ossining High Lauded for Helping Students Secure College Aid

While COVID-19 school closures led to a drop in submissions of federal student aid forms, Ossining High School is one of a dozen New York standouts the Education Trust—New York recognized Tuesday for remaining committed to helping students apply.

The winners of the New York FAFSA Completion Challenge made assisting students with the process a priority and boosted their overall completion rates compared to last year. Submitting FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) forms is critical in helping students from low-income backgrounds obtain funding for and access to higher education. The winning schools each received $750 to give a scholarship to a college-bound Class of 2020 graduate who is from a low-income background or will be a first-generation college student.

“High schools have the power to make a dramatic difference in whether students and families have the support to complete the FAFSA and reach college, and despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, many schools maintained their commitment to helping high school seniors realize the dream of a higher education,” said Ian Rosenblum, executive director of The Education Trust–New York.

The New York FAFSA Completion Challenge was part of the Education Trust’s New York FAFSA Completion Project campaign to encourage public high schools to increase the proportion of low-income students who complete the form. High schools where at least half of all students are from low-income backgrounds were eligible to take the challenge. The Education Trust recognized OHS for its improvement among schools with at least 100 seniors. Ossining’s completion rate was 58%.

Ossining High School recognizes the needs of the population it serves and has placed an emphasis on assisting families with FAFSA, Principal Stephen Hancock said. In partnership with Latino U, which strives to increase college enrollment and completion among Latinos, OHS offered families two in-person FAFSA Bootcamps before the COVID-19 pandemic. Counselors made sure that parents knew what documents to bring to meetings and worked with students to create their FSA identification for Federal Student Aid’s online systems.

When OHS closed due to the pandemic, counselors communicated with students via emails, phone calls and Google Meet sessions to ensure they finished the applications.

“During our parent evenings, I always share with families that there are ways to help pay for college if that is your child’s goal. Our job is to not only educate your child but assist you in securing funds for an experience every child should have,” Mr. Hancock said. “Any amount goes a long way for our families and I am proud to be recognized by the Education Trust—New York for this achievement.”

The nonprofit’s analysis found that about 61.7% of public high school seniors in the state completed the FAFSA by June 26, a drop of more than 2 percentage points compared to the 2018-19 and 2017-18 school years. Schools with the largest shares of low-income students have a completion rate that is 13% lower than those with the smallest shares students in that demographic.

National research shows that 90% of high school seniors who complete the FAFSA go to college immediately after graduating, compared to 55% of those who do not.

OHS awarded the FAFSA Challenge scholarship to Dayan, a first-generation college student who will attend the City University of New York’s Borough of Manhattan Community College. She plans to major in business administration and applied science. While at OHS, Dayan maintained a 3.0 grade point average and took a diversity of courses with a focus on the arts. She also worked 35 to 40 hours a week during her senior year.

Dayan had originally envisioned art as her career, but with her work experience and a business administration degree, she wants to become a business product manager. She also wants to mentor youth, specifically children of immigrant parents.

FAFSA completion data for all New York high schools is available on Ed Trust–NY’s FAFSA tracker at NYFAFSAChallenge.org.