FAFSA Use On Rise Among Tulsa-Area High School Students

More Tulsa-area high school seniors are filling out FAFSA forms.

It's good news, because it could mean more financial help for college.

It's called FAFSA — Free Application For Federal Student Aid.

2/2/2017 Related Story: Group Urging Tulsa Students To Apply For College Financial Aid

It's required for many scholarships and student loans.

The problem is not enough students fill it out to see if they qualify but that's turning around.

Over the last three years the Tulsa education analysis group Impact Tulsa has worked to increase the number of high school seniors filling out the form.

It's working.

Out of about 7,000 high school seniors in the Tulsa area, this year 3,973 students filled out the form.

That's 383 students more than last year, meaning more students will have access to financial aid.

"We want more kids to go to school. We know in 2025, our workforce is going to demand about 77 percent of all jobs will require a post-secondary degree. I want our students to stay in Tulsa, to thrive in Tulsa and I want them to come back here to work, and to do that, they need to complete a post-secondary degree," said Alex Paschal of Impact Tulsa.

Impact Tulsa reports that students with low or moderate income students who do the form are 30 percent more likely to enroll in college, and get an average of $6,000 dollars in student aid per year.