The students who could benefit the most from federal financial aid are actually often less likely to apply for it, according to a National College Attainment Network (NCAN) report. This gap impairs advocates’ efforts to improve equity in higher education because affordability significantly affects the ability of many students to enroll and remain in college.

What if there were demonstrably effective ways to lower barriers to financial aid applications so more students, at all income levels and from all backgrounds, apply to college?

There are.

Many states, cities, and school districts are taking actions that boost student completions of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), particularly among groups that have historically lagged in applying. Completing the FAFSA is the mandatory first step in qualifying for all forms of federal financial aid, including Pell Grants, work-study programs, and federal student loans. Many states and colleges also use FAFSA information to award their own grants, scholarships, and loans.

Most efforts to boost FASFA completions experience some degree of success, and some result in dramatic gains. But nationwide replication of these efforts is key.

To illustrate this point: In 2022, just two states —Alabama and Texas — accounted for about 60% of the nationwide gain in FAFSA completions by high school seniors through policy changes to make FAFSA completion a high school graduation requirement.

“FAFSA completion often needs individual support. We need many more hands to help every student complete.” said Kim Cook, a former Pell Grant recipient who is now NCAN’s CEO. NCAN is a nonprofit member association dedicated to closing equity gaps in postsecondary attainment for all students, and it has made FAFSA completions a centerpiece of its efforts.

The nationwide FAFSA completion rate for high school seniors was better in 2022 (57.7%) than in 2021 (53.1%), especially at high schools with a high proportion of Black and Hispanic students or a high proportion of students from low-income households. But the completion rate remained below 58% as of September 2022, according to NCAN’s FAFSA tracker.

“Eligible students don’t apply because they don’t understand that the financial aid programs exist or because they can’t believe that the federal government will help them go to college or… because the form is complicated,” Cook said. NCAN also found that debt aversion is a factor for many students.

“Many factors contribute to that astonishing $3.75 billion in Pell Grants left on the table by eligible students who don’t complete the FAFSA.”

A big effort to address the FAFSA form’s complexity is finally coming to fruition after years of advocacy from organizations like NCAN. Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020. This law will streamline the FAFSA form and expand access to federal aid. The act’s changes will be phased in from the 2021–2022 to the 2024–2025 financial aid award years.

Simplification isn’t a cure-all for the FAFSA completion problem. However, by addressing one substantial barrier, it should make other efforts to boost FAFSA completions more effective. These efforts by states and school districts include:

• Universal FAFSA completion policies. States mandate FAFSA completion by high school seniors (with exceptions) as a condition of high school graduation. 
• Peer coaches. School districts recruit key seniors — or “near peers” who have started college — to provide encouragement or assistance. In some successful efforts, as in Arizona’s Mesa school district, peers are offered financial incentives or other rewards. 
• One-on-one assistance. School staff provide individual attention to students. One-on-one assistance builds trust between students and staff and allows time to answer specific questions. Some programs also include family outreach (since parents may be reluctant to disclose the financial information the application requires).  
• FAFSA completion events. Schools host events focused on completing FAFSA forms. School-based events are promotable, provide on-the-spot support, and build on the camaraderie of peers doing the same thing at the same time. 
• Social media and texting. Schools have adopted a variety of approaches. For example, Fort Worth Independent School District posts weekly on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote completion events; offers monthly awards for schools; holds award drawings for FAFSA completers; and posts “myth-busters” for parents.
• FAFSA chatbots. Technology, and specifically artificial intelligence, can be a useful tool for increasing FAFSA completion. Federal Student Aid has Aidan, Arizona has Benji, and Washington has the OtterBot. All of these platforms help connect students with answers to their questions. Even better, the services can learn new content based on students’ most frequent queries.

These tactics typically are used in combination. For example, districts and schools can use social media to drive up attendance at FAFSA completion events, as Truckee Meadows Community College in Nevada did with this Dancing Dollars YouTube video. States can combine FAFSA mandates with other support. For example, Louisiana, a pioneer in making FAFSA completion a high school graduation requirement, also provided students and parents with support to complete the form and launched a text messaging and social media campaign to educate them on its value. 

The short time frame and small number of states in which these universal completion policies have been in effect mean that evidence about the policies’ effects on enrollment, persistence, and college completion is still developing. Follow-up research is needed to shed light on the policies’ impact.