When Nathan Daun-Barnett was in the middle of talking to a class of high school seniors about the college process, he realized one particular student was not engaged. He sat him down to ask what he planned to do after high school.
"I'll probably just do my thing," the student said.
Daun-Barnett quickly realized the "thing" was drugs and the student was dealing on the streets. He told the student he understood, but asked why. The student said he needed the money in order to support his family.
"I told him he had a ton of career options in college," Daun-Barnett said. "There are so many different choices. His demeanor instantly changed and he was engaging in a different way."
Daun-Barnett, an assistant professor of higher education administration in the Graduate School of Education, is the director of UB's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Project. The program looks to raise the number of completed FAFSA forms in public schools around Buffalo.
The student he talked to was one of many who might not have completed a FAFSA form if it were not for Daun-Barnett's project.
FAFSA is a form available to students who seek financial aid for college. A student needs to complete the form to receive compensation from the federal government - which can include federal work-study programs, grants or loans. Disbursement is based on income. Having accurate tax forms is an integral part of the process.
Buffalo public high schools have been participating in the "Say Yes to Education" program, which guarantees to provide a portion of a student's tuition if he or she needs it after New York State's Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and Pell Grants. Daun-Barnett said this has also helped the amount of FAFSA applications being completed. Overall, Buffalo public high schools have seen a 61 percent increase of completed FAFSA applications since the program has started.
Daun-Barnett realizes filling out FAFSA forms may be a wasted effort if students do not plan on attending college. But he thinks increasing the number of students who fill out FAFSA forms can help college application rates.
"We're hoping to allow more students the ability to attend college through the FAFSA project," Daun-Barnett said.
Daun-Barnett was first inspired to help high school students with FAFSA when he was a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan. The state announced a project in Kalamazoo, Mich., that promised to provide a tuition guarantee to every high school senior looking to attend college.
"I thought, what an interesting thing to try and have a conversation here in Buffalo," Daun-Barnett said. "It turns out that they were having a conversation in Buffalo about exploring this idea of helping high school seniors pay for college."
Daun-Barnett started partnering with Buffalo public schools in 2008. He went to school counselors to ask about challenges they face and found that a majority of them spent a large amount of time sitting down with students to fill out FAFSA forms.
In 2011, a project was started up in South Park High School.
Using volunteers from his service learning class, Daun-Barnett brought free tax preparation services along with FAFSA completion services. The two forms go hand-in-hand and completing the two together increases the chances of receiving financial aid.
"We did 33 FAFSA forms that year," Daun-Barnett said. "It's a modest number, but it was also two-thirds of the FAFSA forms that got done in South Park High School."
The FAFSA Project not only helps students fill out FAFSA forms, but also gives counselors time to focus on other things more related to their jobs.
Mary Ross, a school counselor at Burgard High School, understands how much Daun-Barnett has helped. She mentioned how difficult it was to contact parents and get crucial information from them in order to fill out students' FAFSA forms.
"It is really amazing to witness the students' excitement of people taking the time to sit with them to help them accomplish such a tedious task," Ross said.
The FAFSA Project is currently recruiting team members to continue helping students fill out forms. Daun-Barnett encourages students to volunteer if they are interested.
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