Last year NJ Ed Report covered Camden’s ““FASFA Challenge,” a competition among all city high schools—district, charter, and renaissance—that awarded $25,000 to the school where the largest percentage of students filled out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The event, sponsored by the Camden Education Fund (CEF), was so successful that CEF and the Newark-based non-profit, the New Jersey Children’s Foundation (NJCF). are collaborating this year on what is the new the Camden-Newark FAFSA Challenge.

This opportunity came about through a conversation between CEF Executive Director Giana Campbell and Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen about the success of the Camden-only event. Carstarphen phoned Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and suggested a collaboration. Baraka loved the idea—especially since Newark Public Schools had already made filling out the FAFSA a high school graduation requirement and earlier this month Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill taking that requirement statewide. 

The school in each city with the highest percentage of students who complete the FAFSA will get $25,000 (courtesy of CEF and NJCF); the non-profit representing the losing city will give an additional $10,000 to the winning district, probably to be shared among participating schools.

At a press conference yesterday, both Campbell and Barbara Martinez, Executive Director of NJCF, noted that during the pandemic the percentage of New Jersey students filling out their FAFSA forms dropped precipitously, leaving close to $90 million in possible federal financial aid on the table. “We don’t want it left on the table. We want it in the hands and the pockets of our students,” Campbell told TAPinto. The Camden challenge last year resulted in a 26% increase in students filling out their FAFSA forms and hopes are high that partnering with Newark will lead to further increases and give more options to students by making post-secondary education affordable, whether that’s college, a trade school, or an eligible certification program.

Shayaka Wilson, who graduated from Newark’s West Side High School and got a biology degree from Rutgers University, said she didn’t realize she was eligible for a federal PELL grant, reserved for low-income students, until she filled out the FAFSA.  “We need to change that narrative in the city,” she said. “This is one of the reasons I think it is imperative to spread awareness about filling out the FAFSA application to unlock your eligibility for free federal student aid.”

Milan Dargan, who will graduate from  Mastery High School of Camden in June and plans to join the ROTC and major in finance, said it took him all of fifteen minutes to fill out the FAFSA form. “Recognize that this opportunity is free,” Dargan told TAPinto. “It doesn’t take too much effort. I feel as though anybody should run to try to get any type of assistance, you know, that they need.”

The 2024-25 FAFSA opened on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. For more details about filling out a FASFA, visit https://fafsa.gov. Additional information can be found on the website for the National College Attainment Network. Parents, students and schools in Newark and Camden can track their FAFSA progress on the contest dashboard.