College Access Group Sees Surge in FAFSA Applications

The percentage of high school seniors who by June 30 had filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as the FAFSA — reached a new high level this year after several years of decline, according to new data compiled by the National College Access Network.

The number of FAFSAs filed by high school seniors increased 9 percent — or rose from 56 for the Class of 2016 to 61 percent for the Class of 2017.

The number of individuals overall — not just high school seniors — who completed the FAFSA before June 30 also rose — by 6 percent — to about 14 million individuals, as opposed to about 13.2 million the year prior. The all-time record took place in the 2012-2013 school year, when 15 million students filed the FAFSA by June 30. In recent years, however, the number has dipped to nearly 13 million.

Carrie Warick, director of policy and advocacy at the National College Access Network, or NCAN, called the increase “exciting.”

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Warick said in a phone interview with Diverse. “It’s very exciting to see those numbers increase, which means more students — both high school seniors and adults — are considering higher education.”

FAFSA completion among high school seniors is an important factor because a high school student who completes the FAFSA is 63 percent more likely to attend a college, according to an analysis by NCAN.

Warick attributed the increase in FAFSA completion this year to three things, two of which took place due to policy changes at the federal level during the Obama administration: