A record number of Washington high school students applied for college financial aid this past school year, state officials recently announced.

As of the week of July 23, 46,168 seniors in the Class of 2026 completed either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, or the state-equivalent Washington Application for State Financial Aid, or WAFSA.

The achievement marks back-to-back years that Washington high schoolers set a record for the number of completed financial aid applications. Roughly 44,000 students applied last year.

“That’s very real momentum. It’s worth celebrating,” said Amy Keltner, senior director of policy and programs at the Washington Student Achievement Council.

The total surpassed the state’s goal of 46,000 applicants, which officials established as part of a monthslong campaign Gov. Bob Ferguson launched last September. The Legislature gave the council $575,000 in each of the last two years to improve FAFSA rates.

The effort has shown real results. At the time of its launch, Washington ranked 47th among states for the number of high school seniors who completed the FAFSA. This year, Washington climbed up to 40th.

Ferguson said Washington would perform better if lawmakers supported a proposal he announced earlier this month to make applying for financial aid a graduation requirement. Students could also sign an agreement to opt out. 

The idea was not included in the Board of Education’s draft proposal to update high school graduation requirements. 

Ferguson’s student aid campaign brought together students, educators, school administrators, community organizations and businesses. It involved several strategies to reach school districts across the state, including statewide messaging, financial aid events and expanded access to data showing which students completed an application. 

It also provided training to over 1,500 people through the Your Future, Funded initiative. And it partnered with trusted messengers such as the Spokane Teachers Credit Union, which trained staff to spread financial aid messaging. The Seattle Mariners also hosted a financial aid awareness game earlier this year. 

State officials noted that the Washington Student Achievement Council is developing data to understand if more financial aid applicants means more students entering college.