COLORADO, USA — In the Manual High School cafeteria Wednesday, senior Lyasia Pyles filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as FAFSA. Completing the form makes her unique: In Colorado, more than half of her peers don't typically fill it out.
According to the state Department of Higher Education, last year 57% of students didn't finish the form, which qualifies them for federal financial assistance but is also a gateway to state, college and private scholarships. The state Department of Education estimated students leave $30 million on the table in federal grants alone.
"For the vast majority of students, it’s a necessary step to making college affordable," Gabe Guindon of the nonprofit Denver Scholarship Foundation said. "We’re actually fairly far behind when you compare [us] to many states across the country, which is unfortunate."
In an effort to improve Colorado's FASFA completion, lawmakers appropriated nearly $3 million for grants to improve training for educators, update financial literacy resource banks and give $500 stipends to teachers for completing financial aid training, among other appropriations.
However, the Department of Higher Education and Department of Education both said Wednesday that most of the programs are not yet up and running. A Department of Higher Education spokesperson said offers have been extended to potential new hires to staff an outreach team that will develop toolkits outlined in the legislation.
The Department of Education said it's preparing to release the request for application for its grant program. It already has staff coordinators to help districts with FAFSA completion and is hiring a new personal financial literacy specialist. A spokesperson said it is waiting on the Department of Higher Education to develop the training teachers will need to complete to earn the stipends.
The Department of Higher Education said it's making a push for students to apply to colleges this Fall, including its free application days which begin this week. A spokesperson said it plans a push to have students complete the FAFSA when its outreach team is ready in January.
By then, the students contacted through those programs may be at a disadvantage, Guindon said. "In a dream world, you’re submitting financial aid applications right now in October, November and then receiving financial aid packages as soon as February, March," he said. "Aid is dispersed on first come, first served."
That's why the Denver Scholarship Foundation and Guindon's colleague Diana Madriz are helping students like Lyasia Pyles, who hopes to be the first in her family to go to college.
"Since it’s person to person, it’s easier for me to talk through the steps and not have to go through virtually and have to do it myself for something I’ve never done before," she said of the application.
Besides the recommendations lawmakers funded this Spring, the state's "Financial Aid Working Group" said Colorado could consider implementing a mandate that all students complete the form to graduate high school. Half a dozen other states already have this requirement, and Guindon said it would make a difference in Colorado too.
"It dispels the myth that college can never be affordable -- that the sticker price is more than what anyone can pay for," he said.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Full Episodes of Next with Kyle Clark