"The number of high school seniors applying for U.S. federal college aid plunged in the weeks following the sudden closure of school buildings this spring — a time when students were cut off from school counselors, and families hit with financial setbacks were reconsidering plans for higher education," the Associated Press reports. 

"In the first weeks of the pandemic, the number of new applications fell by nearly half compared to last year’s levels, fueled by a precipitous decline among students at low-income schools, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data. The numbers have risen as states and schools have launched campaigns urging students to apply for aid, but they remain down overall from last year.

... Once schools closed, counselors could no longer pull students into their offices to talk, or invite families to school to navigate the FAFSA. Instead, schools were left sending emails that often went unanswered, or they relied on unwieldy video chats to help families with paperwork.

There’s hope that the decrease is partly tied to students who plan to attend community colleges and are waiting to file until closer to those schools’ deadlines, which are often later, said Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Still, he worries that the drop-off may be more than a 'temporary blip.'

'During recessions, traditionally more people go back to school to retool. But this just feels very different because of the pandemic, the illness, the job loss, and then the quarantines that might reappear this year,' he said. 'All of this says to me, there are a lot of things to be worried about.'”

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 7/6/2020