Indicator: FAFSA completion
Definition
Grade 12 students eligible for federal financial aid complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by June 30.
RECOMMENDED METRIC(S)
Percentage of grade 12 students who complete the FAFSA by June 30
Type(s) of Data Needed
Administrative dataWhy it matters
Students who report completing a FAFSA are more likely to enroll in college, enroll in a four-year rather than a two-year college, and enroll full time rather than part time compared to students who do not complete an application. For example, students from low-income households who complete a FAFSA are 127 percent more likely to enroll in college in the fall after graduating high school than their peers who do not. One study found that, among students who applied and were admitted to college, there was a 29 percent difference in enrollment—84 percent of students who were admitted and completed the FAFSA enrolled in a four-year college, compared with 55 percent enrollment by students who were admitted but did not complete the FAFSA. Among the high school class of 2015, students from low-income households were less likely to submit the FAFSA (71 percent) compared to students from middle-income households (77 percent), despite having greater financial need. In addition, Latino students were less likely to complete the FAFSA (75 percent) compared to Black students (81 percent) or Asian students (84 percent). Being flagged for FAFSA verification increases the likelihood that a college-intending student will delay enrollment, and students of color are more likely to be flagged for FAFSA verification than White students.
Students who are eligible for financial aid but do not apply forgo a total of $24 billion in aid, adding to their student debt. Recognizing the importance of FAFSA completion, at least six states have made it a requirement for high school graduation; several more are considering following suit.
What to know about measurement
Records of FAFSA completion are federally collected and reported at aggregate levels by high school and district by the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).iii At least 49 states have access to student-level data from FSA through the Student Aid Internet Gateway agreement, but only 38 states have established a data-sharing process for making student-level FAFSA completion data available to schools, as summarized by the National College Attainment Network.
The FAFSA does not currently collect information on applicants’ race/ethnicity; therefore, it is not currently possible to disaggregate federal FAFSA completion data (current research on differences in completion rates by subgroup typically includes survey data). The FAFSA Simplification Act contains several provisions that will modify current application and eligibility determination processes beginning in the 2023–2024 school year, including a provision that will require race/ethnicity data to be collected.
To be eligible to submit a FAFSA, students must be U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens, so care should be taken in interpreting completion rates in schools with immigrant populations. Undocumented students are eligible for state financial aid in at least seven states, and E-W systems should also track whether students are completing state aid applications in addition to FAFSA.
iii To report the number of students who submitted the FAFSA by high school, the office of FSA uses an automated process to aggregate counts based on the school names students enter on their applications. Because these names are not standardized, FSA cautions that the reported data “may not represent an exact count.” This limitation and others of the aggregate FAFSA completion data reported by FSA are summarized here.
E-W Case Studies
Source frameworks
This indicator appeared in five source frameworks reviewed for this report. Our proposed measure aligns with work by the Education Strategy Group on the From Tails to Heads framework.
References
The framework's recommendations are based on syntheses of existing research. Please see the framework report for a list of works cited.