Students from Western and other higher education institutions assembled in Olympia this morning for State Need Grant Advocacy Day to show collective support for fully funding the State Need Grant, which provides access to higher education for nearly 70,000 low-income students across the state. Washington is nationally recognized for need-based financial aid funding, but approximately 20,000 students, including nearly 1,400 students at Western, currently qualify for the State Need Grant but do not receive the award due to limited state funding. As outlined in WWU’s legislative priorities this session, Western strongly supports fully funding the State Need Grant and other efforts to help ensure that all Washington students have access to postsecondary education.

The State Need Grant program is administered by the Washington Student Achievement Council and provides financial aid to Washington resident undergraduate students whose family income is at or below 70 percent of the state’s median family income (MFI). You can find additional information about the State Need Grant program here, information about financial aid at Western here, and information about three bills this session related to financial aid here.