Forty-four perfect of college-bound-eligible seniors in the Road Map Region of South Seattle and South King County have applied for financial aid, program officials announced today.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is required to apply for financial assistance to attend college.

Filling out the FAFSA also is a requirement to receive the College Bound Scholarship, a program that promises tuition (at public institution rates) and a small book allowance for income-eligible students who signed up by the end of the eighth grade.

According to numbers released by the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) this week, of the approximately 1,498 college-bound-eligible seniors in the class of 2012 in the Road Map Region, 656 – or 44 percent – have submitted the FAFSA so far this year.

While progress is being made – that number was 10 percent two weeks ago – it is important to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible to receive the best financial aid options available.

The message for students and families is “Don’t delay — file today.”

The Road Map Region includes the Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, South Seattle and Tukwila school districts.

“It is great to see a 34-percent bump in two weeks, but we are not going to be satisfied until we see large numbers of our region’s students completing the FAFSA,” said Mary Jean Ryan, executive director of the Community Center for Education Results .

To fill out the FAFSA on line, please visit: www.fafsa.ed.gov.