The majority of seniors in Morton East haven’t been applying for FAFSA.

According to USNews.com, the Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is an application required to be used by all schools in awarding federal student aid. Currently, the U.S. Department of Education gives out around $121.8 billion in loans, work-study funds, and federal grants every year. The agency has reported having assisted about 10 million students. Originally, the FAFSA application had to be filled out by hand and mailed out. Now students can complete it all at FAFSA.GOV on their computer or mobile device. According to the Department of Education, the application takes about 47 to 58 minutes to complete, and nearly all students who apply qualify for some form of federal financial aid. Previously in a poll that was conducted, 8 out of 15 Morton East Students haven’t applied for financial aid.

“Currently, our records show that 224 seniors have completed either the FAFSA or the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid (RISE Act). This is about 21.3% of our seniors. This is as of Monday, November 9,” said Ryan Smith, the Counseling Department Coordinator.

A senior who plans on attending college believes the following.

“FAFSA is important if one does plan on attending college, it saves you a lot of money!” said senior Daniela Moreno.

On the other hand, this is what a senior who doesn’t plan on going to college has to say.

“I believe FAFSA is a really important opportunity for students who want to attend college but not for people like me who are taking a different route after high school,” said Omar Rodriguez.