National College Access Network Releases FAFSA Tracker
By Joelle Fredman, Communications Staff
The National College Access Network (NCAN) launched an interactive, online dashboard Monday to track how many high school seniors in each state are completing the FAFSA.
Using data from the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), the tool, dubbed the #FormYourFuture FAFSA Tracker, allows states to track the number of students applying for financial aid week-to-week, as well as compare results from this FAFSA cycle to the last cycle at the national, state, and city level. And while the number of students applying for aid nationally increased by 6 percent since the installation of the Early FAFSA, NCAN Director of Policy and Advocacy Carrie Warick said there is much more room to grow.
“Last year’s FAFSA cycle demonstrated what we always suspected: given the chance, students interested in going to college want to start the process early,” Warick wrote. “That FAFSA completion numbers are still up 6 percent year-over-year is a very encouraging sign, but we still want to get to as close as possible to every high school senior completing a FAFSA.”
According to the tracker, as of January 12, Tennessee has the highest percentage of high school seniors completing the FAFSA at 60.4 percent, followed by Kentucky at 52.7 percent and Illinois at 51.6 percent. Alaska, on the other hand, has the lowest number of students applying for aid at 19.7 percent, just below Utah at 20.7 percent and North Dakota at 24.8 percent.
The tracker also shows how states are fairing this year in the number of students applying to aid compared to results from last year's cycle. Many states have increased the number of students filing the FAFSA, such as Louisiana by 37.3 percent, the District of Columbia by 20.7 percent, Mississippi by 16.3 percent, and Arizona by 16.1 percent. Some other states, however, have experienced slight decreases in FAFSA completion, such as Wyoming by 2.7 percent, Oregon by 2.2 percent, and Montana by 1.4 percent.
“By allowing states and locales to compare outcomes with their peers and others across the country, [the tracker] aims to inspire a little friendly competition in our collective quest to ensure that all students, especially those underrepresented in higher education, can afford to achieve their educational dreams,” NCAN Communications Manager Allie Ciaramella wrote.
NCAN’s tracker is the latest effort of its national “Form Your Future” campaign, which launched in September to help more low-income students apply for financial aid. The campaign was inspired by an NCAN survey that revealed that more than half of students who did not apply for aid “did not know anything about financial aid.”
“Far too many low-income and first-generation students leave resources on the table that would help them attend and complete college. Completing the FAFSA is a key step in that process,” NCAN Director of External Relations Elizabeth Morgan wrote.
Publication Date: 1/23/2018
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