#CollegeAccessForAll Financial Aid Awareness Month – November 2016 Background November 2016 is Financial Aid Awareness Month, the perfect time to encourage and help families to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA. Completing the FAFSA is a crucial step for every single student in accessing postsecondary education. Students must complete the FAFSA to be eligible for any type of aid for college. This year, the FAFSA opened on October 1st. Many colleges (including CUNY) allocate funds on a rolling, first-come-first-served basis, and so early application is key. Students who complete FAFSA are much more likely to enroll in postsecondary education.

Be social! Join the online conversation! We are celebrating Financial Aid Awareness Month on social media and we want you to join us! Be part of the online conversation! 1. Does your school have Twitter or Facebook profiles? Financial Aid Awareness Month can be a good opportunity to connect with students and families. 2. Follow us on Twitter. Use our handles to mention/tag us on your tweets: - NYC Schools (DOE): @NYCschools - NYC DOE Chancellor, Carmen Fariña: @CarmenFarinaDOE - NYC DOE (other accounts): @PhilWeinbergDOE - @joshwallacknyc - @YTorresDOE 3. Join the conversation using our hashtag: #CollegeAccessforAll. Tag your social posts so others can easily find and share your content. 4. We want to see your #CollegeAccessforAll pictures/videos! Tag your photos with #CollegeAccessforAll or @NYCschools for your opportunity to be shared. NYC DOE social media team will be sharing content on Twitter/Facebook! Feel free to retweet, share, comment, or like – we’d love to hear from you! Share pictures/videos from your school! Feel free to use and adapt any of the sample tweets below. Also, RT us from our NYDOE official Twitter account (@NYCSchools) and share our posts from our Facebook official page.

schools.nyc.gov

Sample social media posts: Hashtag: #CollegeAccessforAll -- Short link to NYCDOE website: http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 TWITTER - It's Financial Aid Awareness Month! Let's make #CollegeAccessforAll a reality! [GRAPHIC] - It's Financial Aid Awareness Month! Help your student to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible: http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 #CollegeAccessforAll - Learn how to submit your FAFSA, how aid is calculated, and how you’ll get your aid: http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 #CollegeAccessforAll - DYK? Students who complete #FAFSA are more likely to enroll & attend college: http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 #CollegeAccessforAll - Completing the FAFSA is the first step toward getting federal aid for college, career school, or graduate school: http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 #CollegeAccessforAll - DYK? Students and parents will need their FSA ID to submit the FAFSA. Get yours: http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 #CollegeAccessforAll - Are you getting ready to complete the FAFSA? Attend a FAFSA completion event near you: http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 #CollegeAccessforAll - Top 5 things you can do to help your student complete the FAFSA: [GRAPHIC] #CollegeAccessforAll - Planning for college? Take a look to our #AchieveNYC guide: http://schools.nyc.gov/AchieveNYC #CollegeAccessforAll - DYK? Many colleges (CUNY) allocate funds on a first-come-first-served basis. Visit FAFSA.gov now! #CollegeAccessforAll - HIGH School Seniors: the 2017-18 #FAFSA is now available! Complete it as soon as possible here: fafsa.gov #CollegeAccessforAll - PARENTS: the 2017-18 #FAFSA is now available! Go to fafsa.gov to help your child apply for financial aid. #CollegeAccessforAll - DYK? The average time to complete a #FAFSA is just 21 minutes! Get started on yours at fafsa.gov #CollegeAccessforAll - 11 #FAFSA mistakes to avoid: http://1.usa.gov/1Qhs1g2 via @usedgov #CollegeAccessforAll - Need help filling out your #FAFSA? → http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 #CollegeAccessforAll - Finished your FAFSA? Find out what you can expect next: http://1.usa.gov/17RFJF9 #CollegeAccessforAll - Get real-time answers to your financial aid questions from an expert! Visit nyccollegeline.org & “ask an adviser” #CollegeAccessforAll - Check out the #FAFSA "How-To Guide for HS Students" to get ready for #CollegeAccessforAll: understandingfafsa.org FACEBOOK - It's Financial Aid Awareness Month! Completing the #FAFSA is a crucial step for every single student in accessing postsecondary education. Let's make #CollegeAccessforAll a reality: http://on.nyc.gov/1P8LLn5 [+GRAPHIC] - HIGH School Seniors: the 2017-18 #FAFSA is now available! Complete it as soon as possible here: fafsa.gov #CollegeAccessforAll [+GRAPHIC] - High School Students and Families! Completing the FAFSA is the first step toward getting federal aid for college, career school, or graduate school. Our “How-to Guide for High School Students on FAFSA (and the Adults Who Help Them)” will assist you in navigating the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process: understandingfafsa.org

schools.nyc.gov