Education Dept. Will Let Some High Schools Track Students’ Aid Applications

Getting high-school seniors to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is one of the great challenges of college access. Many high schools offer help with the form but lack a way to know who still needs to complete it. Last week the U.S. Department of Education announced it would allow a small number of high schools and districts to track whether their seniors had completed the application in a pilot program this spring based on a similar project that has shown success in the Chicago Public Schools. Twenty schools or districts can participate in the pilot program, and nearly 100 have already expressed interest, said Greg M. Darnieder, special assistant and adviser to the education secretary on the secretary’s initiative on college access.