The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) recently released a report about Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates for the high school class of 2021. NCAN gathers FAFSA completion data through the Form Your Future FAFSA Tracker which includes data on student demographics and high school type.
- The high school class of 2021 has lagged behind the class of 2020 in overall FAFSA completion rates.
- In July 2021, the high school class of 2021 completed 4.8% less FAFSAs than the class of 2020, which equates to 102,000 less seniors who completed a FAFSA.
- As of July 2021, approximately 53.3% of the high school class of 2021 completed a FAFSA, a 2.5 percentage point decrease from 2020.
- The decreases in overall FAFSA completion rate were disproportionately distributed across student demographics and high school type.
- Students of color and students from low-income backgrounds were negatively impacted.
- In high schools that have more than 40% Black and Hispanic students, the decline was 8.1%, compared to 2.2% in schools with less Black and Hispanic enrollment.
- The FAFSA completion rates for Title I eligible public high schools declined 6.5%, compared to 3.7% for non-Title I eligible public high schools.
- Public high schools in cities (-6.6%) and small towns (-7%) had greater decreases, compared to schools in rural places (-5.5%) and suburban high schools (-4.2%).
- Students of color and students from low-income backgrounds were negatively impacted.
- The top five states in FAFSA completion are: Louisiana (73.7%), Tennessee (71.6%), Washington, D.C. (66.0%), Illinois (65.7%), and New Jersey (64.3%)
- The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center states that postsecondary enrollment for Fall 2021 is at a declining rate similar to decreasing trends in FAFSA completion rates.
