The number of high school seniors applying for financial aid has dropped.
"COVID is definitely affecting the student populations who are submitting FAFSAs and CADAs," says Patrick Perry, with the California Student Aid Commission.
He says the number of seniors who've submitted a FAFSA - or Free Application for Federal Student Aid - is down 10 percent compared to the same time last year.
The decline in CADAA submissions is even more dramatic - about 40 percent.
CADAA - or the California Dream Act Application - allows undocumented students to seek state financial aid.
"I think there are a lot of students, especially this is going to affect the community college system most, who needed a lot of assistance just to go to college in the first place and a lot of things went wrong, maybe their personal income dropped or declined or their family's income or living situation changed dramatically that it made it impossible to start school when they were dealing with these other familial crises going on," Perry says.
Students still have time to apply. The deadline is March 2.
The commission offers free "Cash for College" webinars to help students with the application process.