NCAN’s FAFSA Tracker Returns for 5th Year Hoping for a Trendline Turnaround

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Kelly Mae Ross

By Bill DeBaun, Director of Data and Evaluation, National College Attainment Network

Oct. 1 is a major milestone on every college access professional’s calendar because it’s opening day for the new FAFSA cycle. The good news is NCAN’s FAFSA Tracker is back for the fifth consecutive year to help practitioners, policymakers, and the public track high school FAFSA completions at the national, state, city, district, and school levels. The bad news is for the past two FAFSA cycles there have been fewer completions to track.

The nascent 2022-23 FAFSA cycle, which will represent class of 2022 high school seniors, opens on the heels of two consecutive cycles experiencing FAFSA completion declines. By July 2, the high school class of 2021 completed 4.8% fewer FAFSAs than the class of 2020; this represented about 102,000 fewer FAFSA completions and just 53.3% of the senior class. By June 30 of last year, the class of 2020 had about 81,000 fewer FAFSA completions than the class of 2019, representing a 3.7% decline.

Over the summer, it was a tale of two cycles. The class of 2021 slowly clawed back some momentum and rose to -4.2% year-over-year by the end of September. Meanwhile, the class of 2020 declined from -3.7% to -4.2% by Sept. 11 of last year. Neither case is all that encouraging, but all things being equal we’d rather see an upward trend than not.

This all adds up to a sobering reality: across the classes of 2020 and 2021, more than a quarter-million fewer seniors completed a FAFSA than we would have expected, due to the pandemic.

Unfortunately, declines in FAFSA completion have been inequitably distributed, with public high schools serving more students from low-income backgrounds and more students of color seeing fewer FAFSAs completed than their counterparts.

As previously noted, these figures portend a potentially rough postsecondary enrollment landscape for the current fall semester. The catastrophic enrollment declines reported on by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center came on the heels of both a smaller FAFSA completion decline last year and a larger percentage of seniors completing the FAFSA.

Updates to the FAFSA Tracker

Turning toward the current cycle, there are a few changes and additions to the Form Your Future FAFSA Tracker:

Most notably, the 12^th-grade enrollment figures used to calculate the percentage of seniors completing at the national and state levels are now based on data from the 10^th edition of Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE)’s Knocking on the College Door report. Previously, these enrollment figures were based on projections from the 9^th edition of the report, now they are based on actual reported enrollment headcounts from the states. The update applies to all cycles in the Tracker, and the trendlines in the Compare By Cycle dashboard reflect this.
- Functionally, this means that most states will see a decline of three to four percentage points in their percent of seniors completing compared to what they might expect. Because high school graduation rates are (and have been) increasing, and schools are getting better at retaining students, the number of 12^th-grade students is increasing relative to WICHE’s previous projections. This means denominators are growing, and average completion rates consequently decrease when we’re comparing 9^th and 10^th edition calculations.
- A comparison of 9^th and 10^th edition calculations based on the 2021-22 FAFSA cycle shows that moving to 10^th edition data creates a decrease in the percentage of students completing a FAFSA in 48 states. The average decline is 3.2 percentage points.
- Questions, concerns, and consternation about this change can be directed to me at debaunb@ncan.org
The FAFSA Tracker is pleased to add a new dashboard that shows FAFSA completions by district and high school. This dashboard is filterable at the state, city, district, and school levels and shows total completions, by date of the cycle, for the current and previous cycle.
Although the Tracker previously showed year-over-year percent change by public high schools’ Title I eligibility, this year we’ve switched that metric to display comparisons between low- and higher-income high schools. We use the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s cutoff of +/- 50% of students on free- or reduced-price lunch to categorize high schools. We made this switch because of a low sample size of Title I-eligible high schools in the National Center for Education Statistics data.

NCAN remains grateful for the enthusiasm we receive about the FAFSA Tracker, and we are pleased to be able to continue to provide and update this valuable tool. Updates will generally come every Friday pending the availability of FAFSA completion data from Federal Student Aid.

Our fingers are crossed that the class of 2022 will break the downward trend in FAFSA completion declines, and we will be monitoring this cycle closely to provide updates and insights periodically.

6 Ways to Make FAFSA Completion a Community-Wide Effort

Posted on September 14, 2021September 30, 2021 by Kelly Mae Ross

This piece originally appeared on the Principal Project blog. It is reposted here with permission.

By Ralph Aiello

For many students, the ability to enroll in and complete college hinges on financial barriers that can feel outside of a family’s control. The truth is, students who need aid to attend college are often eligible for quite a bit – but to receive it, they must first fill out the FAFSA, which can feel intimidating and confusing – especially to low-income and first-generation college-bound students and their families. This is an urgent equity issue, and my district has made it a major priority to ensure that every student has the support they need to complete the FAFSA.

Boosting FAFSA completion rates requires us to create a culture that inspires hope and lets students know they’re not alone – that there are adults here to help them through the process. It’s a big undertaking, and you can’t do it alone as a school leader, but you can spearhead a community approach.

Here are the ways my district pushes for FAFSA completion with wraparound supports and outreach, taking a full-community approach.

You can also find resources to help you in these efforts via the National College Attainment Network:

Explore NCAN’s FAFSA Resource Library

6 ways our district works to boost FAFSA completion

1. Train a pool of volunteers to offer one-on-one help with FAFSA completion.

As complex as the FAFSA can feel, the people with whom students engage on a daily basis – staff members, community members or even other students – can assist with a lot, and they refer those with more intricate questions to a higher-level professional, like the school counselor.

Any FAFSA-completion event is going to have a bigger impact with a team of volunteers trained to help people navigate their way through the FAFSA and answer general questions. Invest early in training so you can leverage volunteer support all school year long. Check out resources from NCAN that can support your team with training.

2. Emphasize the amount of money that might be at stake.

Some families don’t even know that the FAFSA exists – or how much support might be available to their students if they fill it out. When we show families the amount of funding that they could be eligible to receive – whether in the form of a loan or a grant – the number tends to catch their attention. When people realize their student might have the opportunity to attend a local college for almost free, they’re more motivated to overcome obstacles to navigating the FAFSA.

3. Carry out awareness campaigns to address myths and fears about the FAFSA.

Even for families that do know about the FAFSA, misinformation can get in the way of completion. Families might worry about exposing their immigration status or financial situations that aren’t sorted out the way they’d like, making the FAFSA feel intimidating – and even risky.

Get the word out, through conversations, letters and social media campaigns, that the information shared in the FAFSA won’t be flagged by the IRS or immigration authorities.

Enlist as many staff members, community partners, parents and students as you can to spread the message that the FAFSA is only used to determine how much money students can afford to pay for college and, therefore, the aid they’re entitled to. Check out NCAN’s tips for communication around the FAFSA.

4. Engage community partners.

When the same messages reach families through multiple channels, they’re likely to engage more. Partner with community organizations around FAFSA completion: local college access networks, Boys and Girls Clubs, PTAs – anyone who is available to support your students. Partners can become trained to assist students, spread information, make computer labs available for FAFSA completion and just serve as additional touchpoints. Explore NCAN resources on engaging partners.

5. Lean on student groups and peer mentors.

When you look around a high school campus, most of the people there are students. How can you draw them into such an important effort? In my district, peer mentoring has transformed postsecondary advising in many ways, and one is in spreading the word about FAFSA. The student “cadets” have a social media division, where they use Instagram and other platforms to get students’ attention and share information.

6. Go where the families go – until you reach everyone.

We try to get as innovative as we can to reach every family. If they don’t come to us, we’re going to them. We are also working on some text-messaging capabilities, and we’re finding our way into their world.

We partnered with a TRiO program that has a mobile unit on buses. We roll the buses into students’ communities, open up shop and go knocking on doors to say, “Hey, come now to the Walmart, or the church parking lot, or just the sidewalk in your neighborhood.” They come onto the bus, and we help them fill out their FAFSA or college application right there.

We go on the radio. We go to community events. We translate everything into Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole, and we hire interpreters for our events. We try to exhaust every opportunity we can, and reach out until we reach everyone.

Explore NCAN’s FAFSA Resource Library

About the Author

Ralph Aiello is director of school counseling at his district in Broward County, FL

MCAN’s Strategies to Engage Students and Facilitate FAFSA Completion During the Summer – or Any Time

Posted on September 2, 2021September 7, 2021 by Kelly Mae Ross

By Sara Melnick, Deputy Director, National College Attainment Network

As of the writing of this blog post, FAFSA completions among high school seniors are down 4.3% from last year. But some states have found ways to buck this downward trend and engage students during the summer months.

NCAN recently hosted a webinar highlighting some of the innovative strategies states are using to increase their completion rates. The states that presented on this webinar all received funding from NCAN (via the Kresge Foundation) to increase FAFSA completion for the high school graduating class of 2021.

Even though a new school year is upon us, many of the strategies discussed during this webinar are relevant to facilitating FAFSA completion at any point in the school year. And even though the strategies discussed during this webinar were implemented at the state level, almost all are relevant to local and district-level efforts focused on increasing FAFSA completion.

The first presenter on this webinar was Jamie Jacobs, deputy director of the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN). Jamie described a number of FAFSA completion strategies MCAN has been implementing throughout the summer.

FAFSA Deadline Extension

MCAN made policy changes to facilitate FAFSA completion and, ultimately, college enrollment.

Michigan’s state priority FAFSA deadline has historically been March 1. But MCAN knew that, especially this year, students might mistakenly believe that they would not be able to enroll in college if they missed that deadline, even though it is only a priority deadline.

To address this challenge, MCAN worked with the Michigan Department of Treasury – the agency in Michigan that established the state FAFSA deadline – to push the deadline back to May 1 for this year. The choice of May 1 was strategic on the part of MCAN because, in Michigan, May 1 (Decision Day) has for about a decade been associated with the celebration of postsecondary decisions and enrollment. The shift of the priority deadline from March 1 to May 1 had two positive outcomes:

It provided more time to encourage students to complete the FAFSA using, among other strategies, student incentives, competitions, and cash prizes for FAFSA completion.
The narrative around the looming and impending March 1 deadline shifted to be more closely associated with the upbeat and celebratory May 1 Decision Day.

Strategic Outreach

MCAN sent short, attractive, direct-to-students communications via email, social media, and paid advertising focused on FAFSA completion.

The organization also reached out to school staff early in the summer to engage them in getting the word out about FAFSA completion to amplify/reinforce the messages students were receiving directly.

And throughout the state, MCAN is helping to disseminate a clear message to students and families that it’s not too late to enroll in a postsecondary program. The organization has engaged higher ed, K-12, and state-level association partners, such as the Parent Teacher Association, in this messaging since, when this webinar aired, there were still many postsecondary institutions that were still enrolling students.

Additionally, MCAN is encouraging their postsecondary partners across the state to reach out to students who have been admitted to an institution but have not submitted a FAFSA. MCAN is appealing to the desire of these institutions to increase their “yield,” since a student with a completed FAFSA is likely to have a much different – and potentially favorable – financial aid package and might therefore be more likely to attend that institution.

Expanded Summer Advising

MCAN worked with their state community service coalition to deploy summer AmeriCorps VISTA staff to double down on advising to help mitigate summer melt. The major focus of this advising was FAFSA completion.

This strategy was still in its early stages at the time of this webinar but showed much promise, especially around developing and delivering a coordinated summer melt strategy for the first time.

To help get the word out about these advising opportunities, MCAN reached out to partners, such as the state-level associations for superintendents, principals, and others. Essentially, MCAN has become a communication arm of these associations – writing plug-and-play emails and social media posts – so it’s easy for associations to get the word out that these college access services are available.

We are grateful to MCAN for sharing these insights and ideas with us. As we prepare for the release of the new FAFSA on Oct. 1, stay tuned for more tips on how to boost FAFSA completion in your communities.

3 More States Add FAFSA Completion as a Requirement for High School Graduation

Posted on August 3, 2021August 6, 2021 by Kelly Mae Ross

By Raymond AlQaisi, Policy and Advocacy Manager, National College Attainment Network

In an apparent resurgence to the growing “mandatory FAFSA” movement, three new states – Alabama, California, and Colorado – have adopted policies that will make completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) a high school graduation requirement.

In 2020, more than a dozen states were considering mandatory FAFSA policies but ultimately did not pass them, with no new adoptions last year – following the onset of the severe COVID-19 pandemic.

The basis for mandatory FAFSA policies is that completion of the aid form is the strongest predictor of college enrollment. Students are more likely to pursue higher education when they are aware of the financial resources available to them. Given this, NCAN supports mandatory FAFSA policies when adequate supports are provided to students in the process – among other important considerations for such policies to be effective.

Illinois is the last state to have adopted the policy, and at the time, when ranked nationally, was among the top 10 states for FAFSA completion. This cycle, Illinois is in the top five 5; 66% of the high school senior class has so far completed the federal financial aid form. Illinois is also currently among a handful of states that have seen increased FAFSA completion as compared to last year.

NCAN’s latest reporting that shows FAFSA completion for high school seniors is down significantly, which presents great concerns for college access. The national completion rate has declined by roughly 5% from the year prior, as of July 16, amounting to over a quarter-million fewer FAFSAs filed since 2019.

Reasonably, states are seeking ways to counteract these trends and mandatory FAFSA is a promising answer.

Alabama

In April, Alabama’s state board of education approved the adoption of mandatory FAFSA to take effect for the high school graduating class of 2022. Notably, this is a short timeline for the state to ask districts to implement, as other states have provided at least one year before their policies would take effect.

According to reports, the state board assures that the ability for a student to opt out and graduate is simple, though it will require completion of a waiver form. With support from state leaders, including Governor Kay Ivey, the policy is intended to help the state reach its goals for postsecondary attainment and workforce development.

Some individuals have raised concerns about the state ensuring students have the support they need to complete the FAFSA. Alabama Possible, an NCAN member, celebrated the policy’s enactment but has publicly called for the state to provide what is necessary for it to be successful.

Chandra Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible, wrote that “funding must follow this critical new policy to make sure that schools can provide the needed supports to students and families to make sure that those who will benefit most will be able to fulfill the graduation requirement and complete the FAFSA.”

California

At the end of June, California enacted its 2021-22 state budget, which included such a FAFSA requirement to begin the 2022-23 academic year.

California, in a first to take this approach, is placing the “requirement” on local educational agencies (LEAs) to confirm that their seniors (those who have not opted out) complete either the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application. The state ensures that students’ ability to graduate will not be negatively impacted by opting out. Additionally, to facilitate the process, California will issue further guidance and standardized forms for LEAs.

Colorado

Last month, the Colorado state legislature passed the Higher Education Student Success bill which included such a requirement.

The law establishes a grant program for LEAs that choose to adopt the requirement, supplementing efforts to assist students in FAFSA completion. Notably, the funding attached that drives this requirement is a unique approach and will help ensure students are well-supported for future FAFSA cycles.

The bill text cites support for partnerships between LEAs, higher education institutions, and community-based organizations that all play a role in students’ FAFSA process; and says that the program will support postsecondary attainment, considering the pandemic’s severe economic impacts.

FAFSA Completion Declines Nearly 5%; Nation Loses 270K FAFSAs Since 2019

Posted on July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 by Kelly Mae Ross

By Bill DeBaun, Director of Data and Evaluation, National College Attainment Network

Key Takeaways:

Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to access federal grants and loans, as well as many types of state and institutional financial aid.
By July 2, the high school class of 2021 completed 4.8% fewer FAFSAs than the class of 2020. In other words, about 102,000 fewer seniors completed a FAFSA this year.
An estimated 53.3% of the class of 2021 completed a FAFSA by July 2.
Across the classes of 2020 and 2021, more than a quarter-million fewer seniors completed a FAFSA than we would have expected, due to the pandemic.
Schools with higher concentrations of students of color and students from low-income backgrounds saw greater declines in FAFSA completion.
These figures could indicate more enrollment declines for fall 2021. Last year’s catastrophic enrollment declines came on the heels of a smaller FAFSA completion decline.

We warned that FAFSA completion would be bad because we knew it would be bad, and in the end: it’s bad.

The end of June is an important milestone for understanding a high school graduating class’s progress toward Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion. Through July 2 this year, the closest date we have to June 30, the high school class of 2021 completed 4.8% fewer FAFSAs than the class of 2020; this amounts to about 102,000 fewer FAFSA completions. An estimated 53.3% of the class of 2021 completed a FAFSA by July 2, down 2.5 percentage points from last year.

NCAN tracks FAFSA completion data through the Form Your Future FAFSA Tracker, updated weekly from Oct. 1 to June 30 and monthly over the summer.

In terms of year-over-year completions, the class of 2021 has trailed the class of 2020 all cycle. Things hit rock bottom at the end of November when the decline hit a whopping -16.8%. Since then, the class of 2021 clawed its way to within 5% but only after a very slow trudge to the finish line; the class of 2021 clawed back just 1.3% between April 23 and July 2.

It is possible that the class of 2021 could continue to close the gap over the summer; time will tell.

By June 30 of last year, the class of 2020 had about 81,000 fewer FAFSA completions than the class of 2019. The class of 2021 had about 190,000 fewer FAFSA completions compared to 2019. Across the classes of 2020 and 2021, more than a quarter-million fewer seniors completed a FAFSA than we would have expected absent the pandemic.

These figures portend a potentially rough postsecondary enrollment landscape for the fall 2021 semester. The catastrophic enrollment declines reported on by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center came on the heels of a smaller FAFSA completion decline last year (-3.4%) and a larger percentage of seniors completing the FAFSA (55.8%).

Just like the postsecondary enrollment declines above, decreases in FAFSA completion were inequitably distributed, and students of color and students from low-income backgrounds were more negatively affected.

Among Title I-eligible public high schools, which enroll higher proportions of students from low-income backgrounds, FAFSA completions declined 6.5% compared to 3.7% for non-Title I-eligible public high schools.

For schools with more than 40% Black and Hispanic students, the decline was 8.1% compared to 2.2% in schools with less Black and Hispanic enrollment.

Public high schools in cities (-6.6%) and small towns (-7%) declined the most, followed by schools in rural places (-5.5%) and suburban high schools (-4.2%).

Beyond the national landscape, the Form Your Future FAFSA Tracker also considers state-level performance. Looking at the top five states by percent of the senior class completing offers some familiar faces. Louisiana (73.7%) reclaimed the top spot from Tennessee (71.6%) with Washington, D.C. (66.0%), Illinois (65.7%), and New Jersey (64.3%) rounding out the top five.

Illinois is the only newcomer to that top five this year, and it also very impressively makes an appearance to the top five by year-over-year change because it finished up 5% compared to last year. Puerto Rico (+5.6%), Wyoming (+5%), and South Dakota (+2%) are the only other states or territories with more FAFSA completions this year than last, which paints a dismal picture of performance nationally.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Two things are true at this point. First, it isn’t too late for students to complete a FAFSA for the 2021-22 academic year and to pursue a postsecondary pathway this fall. Second, college-going isn’t like a light switch, and students who have not completed key college-going milestones by now or who don’t over the summer will be less likely to pursue and complete a postsecondary pathway.

States are, and have been, stepping in to spur FAFSA completion. Consider chatbots like Arizona’s Benji and Washington’s Otterbot. Other states like Michigan have included FAFSA completion as priorities in statewide plans.

NCAN members and the school districts they work with and adjacent to have a role to play as well. The Washington Post covered some of the creative approaches employed last year. NCAN also maintains a robust FAFSA Resource Library that is free to the public.

So much is different about this point in time in the United States compared to the same time last year. Vaccines are spurring a return to normalcy. Infection and death rates are both, thankfully, down. Still, consider what I wrote on the NCAN blog a year ago:

“Even in a ‘normal’ year, students of color, first-generation students, and students from low-income backgrounds need moral and technical support to complete key milestones toward a postsecondary pathway; it will take a tremendous and concerted effort from K-12, postsecondary, and community-based stakeholders to assist these students. There is still sizable uncertainty about what the fall will look like on college campuses (or in virtual classrooms) across the country. NCAN members can help students navigate that certainty and stay on the pathway toward postsecondary attainment.”

Given the declines experienced by the class of 2021, all of the above remains painfully, urgently true. We still have a lot of work to do.

5 Noteworthy FAFSA Trends: New Federal Student Aid Data for 2018-19 and 2019-20 Cycles

Posted on July 19, 2021July 22, 2021 by Kelly Mae Ross

By Raymond AlQaisi, Policy and Advocacy Manager, National College Attainment Network

After five years of declining total filers for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the 1% year-over-year increase in filers during the 2017-18 cycle was a bright spot for FAFSA completion. With the release of data on the demographics of FAFSA filers for the two most recent completed FAFSA cycles – 2018-19 and 2019-20 – it is now possible to examine whether the upward trend in FAFSA completion continued. Unfortunately, the two most recent FAFSA cycles demonstrate a return to overall declines in FAFSA filing.

FAFSA completion is a strong indicator of intended and eventual postsecondary enrollment. While the Great Recession prompted many to enroll (or re-enroll) in higher education, it was expected that the uptick in college-going might level out, since the recovery years had a relatively stronger economy and lower unemployment. As predicted, FAFSA filing dropped in all but one of the eight years following the recession.

Notably, positive changes to the FAFSA process contributed to the 2017-18 bump in overall completion. First, the use of prior-prior year tax information on the FAFSA meant that applicants could use already filed taxes from a year earlier. Secondly, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) began offering the FAFSA form three months sooner: on Oct. 1 rather than Jan. 1.

For the 2017-18 cycle, the roughly 1% increase in FAFSA completions represented over 228,000 additional filers.

However, as you can see in the chart below, new data for two recent cycles show a steady but continued decrease in FAFSA filing – both at a rate of -2% over the previous year. Note that these FAFSA cycles have minimal overlap with the COVID-19 pandemic.

We sifted through the large quantities of data that Federal Student Aid released about the 2018-19 and 2019-20 FAFSA cycles. Based on our analysis, here are five key FAFSA trends for the college access and success field, policymakers, and other education leaders.

1. More FAFSA filers are using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.

The latest data show that a larger percentage of FAFSA filers are using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to transfer financial information to their application. As the chart below shows, roughly half (52%) of FAFSA filers used the DRT in the two most recent cycles. The DRT makes the FAFSA process much simpler and reduces the likelihood that FAFSA filers will be selected for verification, the audit-like process of proving that information included on a FAFSA is accurate.

Unfortunately, data for the 2017-18 cycle was omitted here because during the peak of the FAFSA filing season there was a security breach that prompted the IRS to remove the Data Retrieval Tool option from the FAFSA.

A larger uptake in DRT usage is an encouraging development, as it reduces the time needed to complete the FAFSA and eases the process for students. It also demonstrates the value of the FUTURE Act, passed into law in December 2019. When implemented fully for the 2024-25 academic year, the FUTURE Act will allow all FAFSA filers to use an improved version of IRS data transfer.

2. FAFSA completion is down among filers of all ages.

The chart below shows that, up until the two most recent cycles, the trends in FAFSA filing tracked very closely between filers of different ages. As filing decreased among younger filers, it decreased at a very similar rate for older filers.

FAFSA filing was down for all age groups for the past two cycles, but the “19-24” and “25 and up” age groups experience a more acute decline in the 2018-19 cycle. The “18 or less” age group experienced a second year of small increase in 2018-19, but then a more parallel decline to the older age groups in the 2019-20 cycle.

Note that these age groups are based on the birthdate filers report on the FAFSA and are not directly comparable to NCAN’s #FormYourFuture FAFSA Tracker, which reports on high school seniors who complete the FAFSA. Multiple factors are used to filter for high school seniors in data reporting, and the FAFSA does not ask applicants about their high school graduation year.

3. First-generation students make up a smaller share of FAFSA completers.

The new data show that, over time, students who are first in their families to attend college are comprising a lesser share of FAFSA completers. These results by themselves are not sufficient to draw alarming conclusions. This trend may be driven by changes in demographics – i.e., as a greater share of Americans have attained a college degree, fewer postsecondary students will be defined as the first in their families to attend higher education.

Nevertheless, first-generation students represent nearly half of filers (i.e., potential college-goers) and are a significant student population for education stakeholders to consider in efforts to raise college attainment rates.

4. FAFSA filers are listing more higher education institutions on their aid applications.

NCAN members, such as the College Advising Corps, recommend that students list at least four schools on the FAFSA to broaden their postsecondary options. Positively, the recent data show that this approach is becoming more prevalent.

The past few FAFSA cycles show a considerable increase in the percentage of freshmen who are filing their application to four or more institutions – and relatedly an apparent decrease in the percentage filing to one institution. The FAFSA process changes of prior-prior year tax data and a longer period to file the aid form coincide with more students filing their FAFSA to more institutions. These data show success in that students are considering more options for college enrollment.

Once we have data for FAFSA cycles impacted by the pandemic, this trend will be one to follow. If more students are only listing one institution, it could mean they are perhaps overlooking match or fit in their college search or have other considerations, such as attending an institution closer to home.

5. Federal COVID relief funds can be used to support FAFSA completion.

Given these trends, FAFSA completion should be a top priority for education leaders. NCAN recommends that states and school districts use recently distributed federal COVID-19 response funding to support FAFSA completion.

In total, Congress has appropriated more than $190 billion in aid to K-12 education to provide relief, promote recovery, and prevent learning loss. Considering the federal government spends about $80 billion annually on elementary and secondary education, these funds represent a massive investment and commitment to students and schools.

They also represent a tremendous opportunity to provide students with support that can keep them on the pathway to postsecondary education. K-12 districts and schools are permitted to use these funds broadly, and NCAN’s sincere hope is that many local education agencies will invest these funds in college and career readiness activities.

NCAN’s community-based organizations and nonprofit members should make themselves readily available to provide supports wherever possible.

Please see these NCAN resources for more information: Blog: K-12 and CBOs Should Use Federal Funding to Spur Partnerships, Help Students and Webinar: How CBOs Can Leverage ARP Funds to Support Students.

Author’s note: The data analysis and charts herein are based on NCAN’s calculations, using the “FAFSA Data by Demographic Characteristics” Cycle reports – data available via the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid. (Data accessed in June 2021.)