Tip of the Week
Keeping up the FAFSA momentum
After years of hard work among financial aid and college access professionals, it was precious good news.
More than a quarter of all high school seniors (26 percent) in the country have completed a 2026-27 FAFSA, an 11.7 percent increase over the previous year, according to the National College Attainment Network’s FAFSA Tracker.
The data was released this week after a delay in the availability of the data due to the government shutdown earlier this fall.
After a few tumultuous years, this is good news on a lot of fronts – in particular because the FAFSA is a leading indicator of college enrollment.
Some of the reasons for the increase may be due to less problems for students and parents in completing the FAFSA as well as the Department of Education’s early release of the FAFSA in late September (normally on October 1).
But with this good news comes the realization that much work still needs to be done. While the early release and lower errors have resulted in this increase, we need to do more than just get students through the FAFSA. We now need to address the systemic issues that often prevent students from completing the FAFSA, whether it be from concerns over the value of higher education or a belief that they won’t qualify for any aid.
In that sense, our work has just begun.
Mapping Your Future offers free resources to help your students and parents complete the FAFSA. Visit our newsroom and download our free resources, such as this “Preparing for the FAFSA” flyer. Contact us for more information or if you would like more communications and customer service tools for your students and parents.
