A new report from the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana shows around 60 percent of Louisiana high school seniors are applying for college financial aid this year, a 10% drop from last year. In addition, the report says around 92 percent of parish public school districts saw fewer seniors completing Federal Applications for Federal Student Aid by June 28 compared to last year.
“I think a lot if that has to do with the rollout of the new FAFSA form that the federal government was working on," PAR President Steven Procopio said. "I think that was probably a lot of it."
Procopio says the federal government’s rollout of the new FAFSA form was confusing at best and glitchy at worst. He adds that it was likely a major factor in the national drop in applications. Louisiana still ranks second nationally for FAFSA completions, but Procopio says he’s worried that rank could slip.
“Everybody was affected by the chaotic rollout of the new version of FAFSA,” Procopio explains. “[For] longer term trends, I’m more concerned about Louisiana than I am about the overall nation.”
PAR expects completed FAFSA applications in Louisiana will decline even further after BESE repealed a policy that required students to apply for federal student aid to graduate. Procopio says he hopes this year’s decline shows lawmakers that students need help getting financial aid.
“Hopefully, there can be concerted efforts — even if they changed the policy — to make sure these kids can fill this [FAFSA] out so they don’t leave any money on the table,” he says.
You can find more information on the FAFSA, including deadlines, on the Federal Student Aid’s Office website, or by clicking here.