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WASAC advisory board maps April ‘Finish Your Financial Aid Application’ week after reporting steady FAFSA gains
Summary
WASAC staff told advisory board members they have reached 29,717 FAFSA/WASFA completions toward a 46,000 statewide goal and outlined a statewide ‘Finish Your Financial Aid Application’ week the week of April 20 to push remaining filings. Staff emphasized OtterBot outreach, trusted-messenger trainings and local incentives.
The Washington Student Achievement Council’s FAFSA advisory board met Jan. 19 to review campaign progress and to plan a statewide ‘Finish Your Financial Aid Application’ week aimed at boosting college financial aid applications before the end of the school year.
WASAC staff told the board they had recorded 29,717 FAFSA/WASFA completions toward a statewide target of 46,000 seniors for the 2025–26 cycle — about 65% of the goal — and that the class of 2026’s overall filing rate was 34% as of the update. Natalie (WASAC staff) said the campaign runs through September 2026 and staff plan to use a mix of digital outreach, regional trainings and school-level supports to reach the remaining 16,283 completions.
The advisory board heard several concrete tactics staff plan to scale. Sarah Weiss, director of college access initiatives at WASAC, described expanding OtterBot texting and email outreach to parents as well as students, increasing in-person regional trainings for trusted messengers (teachers, counselors, librarians and community partners), and using a suite of simple, role-specific messages and materials to make follow-up easier at the school level. WASAC reported OtterBot had reached 30,924 high-school seniors and about 40,000 parents or guardians after a data load in November 2025; staff plan to add roughly 14,000 non-college-bound seniors in February to broaden coverage.
Staff emphasized equity targets as key measures. Natalie highlighted four campaign goals: (1) the 46,000 statewide volume target, (2) increasing completion by 6% or more in at least 150 high schools among students eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch (FRPL), (3) closing completion gaps between FRPL-eligible and non-eligible students, and (4) reducing racial and ethnic filing disparities. She reported 69 high schools have met the 6% FRPL improvement target and that the campaign is tracking an 8-point gap (29% vs. 37%) between FRPL-eligible students and their peers. The campaign’s race/ethnicity equity gap score was reported at about 2.9 (the highest group filed at 46% while the lowest filed at 16%).
Board members described local tactics that have produced results in their communities: display-screen reminders and workshop sign-ups in Toppenish; a Mariners Cares–Gates Foundation video and incentives trial in Quincy; and a case-management dashboard at Olympic College that tracks milestones (appointments, account creation, parent portion, submission) to enable targeted 1:1 follow-up. Bish, a campaign partner, reported early regional digital campaign metrics showing large increases in site traffic (roughly 1,000,000 visits to WASAC’s application page in test regions vs. ~250,000 last year) and nearly 500,000 visits to regional event pages. Staff said they will test whether that traffic converts into additional FAFSA completions and postsecondary enrollment, with correlational analyses expected by July.
The advisory board spent substantial time on planning a statewide ‘Finish Your Financial Aid Application’ week targeted for the week of April 20. Staff said that date was chosen to avoid spring breaks and the heaviest end-of-year events; planned elements include a statewide push to superintendents, principals and counselors; local toolkits (social graphics, posters and announcement templates); regional events and virtual supports; leaderboard/competition elements tied to the FAFSA dashboard; and exploration of incentives (school events, game tickets, small prizes) coordinated with local partners. Sarah said WASAC will produce a toolkit and follow up with board members for help distributing materials through trusted local partners.
On technical points, Sean (WASAC data staff) clarified that WASAC’s public dashboard receives only submitted FAFSA records processed by the U.S. Department of Education; public displays now show simplified statuses (completed or has errors) because data-suppression and privacy rules prevent posting some earlier detail categories such as missing-signature codes.
Next steps: WASAC will circulate toolkits, host a webinar to show how to use the FAFSA dashboard and leaderboard, finalize OtterBot expansion and continue targeted DSA outreach to schools without portal users. The advisory board’s next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 17 (virtual).
