MPS and M³ Team Up to Kick Off FAFSA Application Season

By Karen Stokes

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) and M³ partners — Milwaukee Area Technical College and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee — held a news conference at Washington High School of Information Technology (2525 N. Sherman Blvd) to kick off the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) season, stress the importance of completing the FAFSA and to urge MPS seniors to submit their applications early.

“The M³ partnership is dedicated to ensuring that students have the necessary support for FAFSA completion. M³ functions as a series of bridges connecting students from high school to college and beyond,” said UWM Chancellor Thomas Gibson. “One way M³ supports that transition is through the Smart Start program. This is for MPS Seniors who will attend either UWM or MATC.”

Smart Start is a program of support to help students navigate their first semester of college, beginning during the summer after graduation. Getting help with admissions and access support over the summer.

Speakers at the event included Chancellor Gibson, MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, UWM Student Keith Neely, Jr., and MATC President Anthony Cruz.

“This is an important step that all of our students are required to take before graduation to be ready to be able to go to college. We want to make sure there are no financial barriers,” said Cassellius. Students can work with their school counselor or their college and career center in their high school.”

“FAFSA opens doors. It opens doors to scholarships, to grants, and to other financial aid. Too often, students miss out on the opportunity because each year millions of dollars go unclaimed because FAFSA was never completed,” said Mayor Johnson.

Cassellius highlighted MPS’s success in FAFSA completion rates: “MPS is really proud that we have a FAFSA completion rate of 66.4 percent which continues to be higher than the state average which is about 50.7 percent and the national average, although Wisconsin ranks about 40th specifically, MPS is 16 percentage points higher than Wisconsin and seven points higher than the national average rate.”

A student who benefited from completing the FAFSA is Keith Neely Jr., a Washington High School graduate and current finance major at UWM. He attends college with support from receiving a scholarship.

“FAFSA opened my eyes to different opportunities like scholarships,” he said. “The impact of completing my FAFSA not only opened the door for me to receive financial aid but also made college possible for me despite not having the proper mentors to teach me about diving into options like this that could help me soar and build a future for myself. Without it I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley reinforced the importance of financial aid access. “The truth is, the fear of paying for college keeps far too many students and families from believing that higher education is within reach. But completing the FAFSA is a game-changer for so many students,” he said.

Crowley offered a message to students: “As you dream about your future, dream big, dream bold, dream that you can do whatever you want to achieve because the pathway to higher education is within reach and the FAFSA is one of the most powerful tools to help you get there.”

Students planning to complete the FAFSA should go to studentaid.gov. Completing and submitting the FAFSA is free. Only use this official site and steer clear of any websites that require payment.

For more information, students and parents can go to mpsmke.com/fafsa