RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia's governor says the state is offering free help to students and their families to apply for college financial aid.
Gov. Ralph Northam's office said in a statement Monday that the coronavirus pandemic has lead to a decline in completion rates of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
The Virginia College Access Network and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia have partnered to offer one-on-one FAFSA assistance.
Students and families can go to virginiacan.org/fafsa to schedule a virtual meeting and connect with an advisor until June 30.
Virginia has seen 4,300 fewer high school seniors complete the FAFSA. That's a drop of nearly 10 percent compared to last year. The decline also mirrors the nine percent drop in FAFSA completion rates across the country.
“Completing the FAFSA can be difficult under normal circumstances, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and shift to remote learning have added to the challenge of assisting our high school seniors with filling out their forms," the Democratic governor said.