Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, High School Principals, and High School Counselors:

Urgent Financial Aid Application Filing Request

The California Department of Education and the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) are requesting that you to urge all California high school seniors to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) by March 2, 2022. Filing financial aid applications is the first step toward college success and helps eligible students qualify for federal, state, and campus-based aid as well as some private scholarships.

As you may know, this year’s FAFSA and CADAA applications are down significantly year-over-year. California is experiencing an 18 percent decrease in FAFSA and CADAA forms filed by high school seniors when compared to last year at the same time; this mirrors a nationwide trend.

The state priority application deadline is March 2 for all four-year institution-bound students to receive a Cal Grant High School Entitlement award and is encouraged for students planning to attend a community college.

Similar to last year, CSAC is inviting school districts to submit a request for an additional 30 calendar days beyond the March 2, 2022, Cal Grant deadline for students who are unable to submit their 2022–23 FAFSA or CADAA application on time due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic or other qualifying event. To request a deadline extension for those students, please complete the form on the CSAC Forms for Financial Aid Administrators web page at https://www.csac.ca.gov/forms or submit a letter to CSAC by March 7, 2022. CSAC will be reviewing requests for application deadline extensions on March 9, 2022.

California Education Code Section 69513.2 provides that an extension of the financial aid application deadline request granted by CSAC applies to financial aid applicants within a school district, community college district, or the area or region (such as a city or county) that was predominantly affected by the qualifying event; in this case, the qualifying event is the COVID pandemic. Last year, CSAC received requests from 150 K–12 and postsecondary education institutions covering the entire state allowing for all students to take advantage of the 30-day extension if needed.

Please also note that students planning to attend a community college have an opportunity to qualify for an entitlement award up until the September 2 Cal Grant Community College deadline. Community college-bound students are still strongly encouraged to apply early to learn how much financial aid they will likely receive as they make plans for attending college in the fall term.

Students should apply on the Federal Student Aid Complete the FAFSA Form web page at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa for the FAFSA or on the CSAC CA Dream Act web page at https://dream.csac.ca.gov/landing for the CADAA. CSAC has created a social media toolkit to help students and families become aware of the March 2 deadline. The kit includes graphics, captions, videos, and other forms of media to be shared across various platforms and can be found on the CSAC March 2 Deadline Social Media Toolkit web page at https://www.csac.ca.gov/post/march-2-deadline-social-media-toolkit.

CSAC is also offering free Statewide Cash for College webinar events to help students and families complete the applications and answer any questions. Students can register for free assistance at the CSAC Cash for College web page at https://www.csac.ca.gov/cash-college.

If you have any questions or if students or their parents need any additional information, please contact CSAC’s Program Outreach and Marketing Unit at outreachandmarketing@csac.ca.gov or the California Department of Education College Preparation and Postsecondary Programs Office, Career and College Transition Division, at 916-323-6398.

Sincerely,

Tony Thurmond
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
California Department of Education

Marlene L. Garcia
Executive Director
California Student Aid Commission