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Michigan FAFSA Completion Hits Record 61.3% for Class of 2026

Published on November 10, 2026

Michigan’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rate reached 61.3% for the class of 2026, the highest since the state began monitoring completion, the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) announced on November 10, 2026. School districts participating in the Universal FAFSA Challenge had a completion rate of 71.3%, 11.2 percentage points higher than the 60.1% rate among nonparticipating districts. 1

The $10 million Universal FAFSA Challenge awarded funding to 75 school districts and public school academies to adopt FAFSA completion as a high school graduation requirement, with a simple opt-out provision for qualifying students. Participating districts increased their FAFSA completion rates by 6.7 percentage points during the 2025-26 academic year, more than twice the 3-percentage-point increase among nonparticipating districts.

Applications are open for the third round of the Universal FAFSA Challenge. Eligible school districts and public school academies may apply, with applications due Tuesday, December 1, 2026. Districts and academies that received funding in previous rounds are not eligible to apply again.

Sources & notes
Data and figures on this page come from the sources and notes below:

Footnotes

  1. Michigan FAFSA Completion Reaches Record High as Universal FAFSA Challenge Districts …, michigan.gov. ↩

  1. Education Department requires ID for FAFSA applicants after fraud case, October 30, 2026.
  2. 2027-28 FAFSA opened Sept. 23, 2026, the earliest launch in program history, October 28, 2026.
  3. Michigan opens third round of Universal FAFSA Challenge, October 27, 2026.
  4. Medicaid Work Requirements Begin Jan 1, October 25, 2026.
  5. FAFSA form opens early for 2027-2028 school year, September 27, 2026.