On October 3rd, The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced it will be joining Slippery Rock University and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) to promote the PA FASFA GO! initiative. 

“Over the past few years, FAFSA completion has been down and millions of dollars have been left on the table by Pennsylvania learners,” said Dr. Tanya I. Garcia, PDE’s Deputy Secretary and Commissioner for Postsecondary and Higher Education. “We want to make sure that all students who are eligible to complete a FAFSA get the assistance they need to access affordable higher education.”

FASFA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid that determines student financial aid eligibility for college. Only 68% of families applied for 2020-21 aid according to Sallie Mae, with 29% appealing for more aid— 17.8 million FASFA’s were submitted 2020-21 cycle. 

PA FASFA GO! is a collaborative effort to support high school seniors and college students to complete their FASFA application. In 2021, $3.75 billion in Pell grants was left behind because of lack of applicants, something Pennsylvania is focused on making sure doesn’t happen again. 

PDE, the Governor’s Office, PHEAA, the PA Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (PASFAA), the PA Association of College Admission Counseling (PACAC), and the PA School Counselors Association (PSCA), teamed up to create PA FASFA GO! campaign— directing students to resources available. 

“At Slippery Rock University, we’ve taken great strides to encourage our students to complete their financial aid forms so they can maximize the value of their education and be good stewards of resources available to them,” said Alyssa Dobson, SRU director of financial aid and scholarships. “We’re honored to be recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as an example for them launching this initiative across the state and ensuring more students are completing their FAFSA forms in a timely fashion.”

Governor Wolf remains focused on increasing support for higher education, something he was able to accomplish during his 2022-23 budget—$220 million increase funding for higher education.