1. Why Didn’t Students Complete a FAFSA?
Mr. Steven Bahr
Dr. Kathleen Mulvaney Hoyer
and we’d also like to credit Dr. Dinah Sparks, the founder and president of Activate Research, Inc.
We are not content experts. We are data experts.
Mr. Steven Bahr
Dr. Kathleen Mulvaney Hoyer
Activate Research, Inc.

2. As is well-known in this room/among attendees here today, it's important to underscore equity with respect to college access. Understandably, concerns about costs and affordability, as well as financial barriers to access and persistence, are more prevalent among students from low-income or low-socioeconomic families.
Velez, E.D., and Horn, L. (2018). What High Schoolers and Their Parents Know About Public 4-Year Tuition and Fees in Their State (NCES ). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), Base Year, 2009–10 and First Follow-up, 2011–12.
“25 percent of students who were in ninth grade in 2009–10 did not think college was affordable; that percentage grew to 33 percent when these students were in 11th grade (Velez and Horn 2018).”

3. Stats in Brief – present descriptive data in tabular formats to provide useful information to a broad audience
We encourage readers who are interested in more complex questions and in-depth analysis to explore other NCES resources, including publications, online data tools, and public- and restricted-use datasets.
During this presentation we will be discussing our Statistics in Brief “Why Didn’t Students Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)? A Detailed Look.” This publication was prepared for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). However, to be clear, we are not representing the center.
SIBs do not:
Investigate more complex hypotheses
Account for inter-relationships among variables
Support causal inferences

4. You may have seen/read about this report already as it was featured in U.S. News and also in Education Week.

5. FAFSA – a free form to help students find financial assistance
Apply for federal aid for postsecondary education
Considered for aid by states, institutions, and private funders
Introduction
As you know, the FAFSA is an important tool to help students find financial assistance. Not only do students fill out the FAFSA to apply for federal aid for postsecondary education, but also to be considered for aid by states, institutions, and private funders.
Thus, filling out the FAFSA, specifically, and applying for financial aid, more generally, is one of many important steps that college going students might undertake in their transition from secondary to postsecondary education, and challenges with financial aid considerations—alongside other barriers—may undercut students’ access to higher education.
For more information about the FAFSA, please see

6. Data High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) 2013 Update
Nationally representative study of a cohort of ninth- graders in fall 2009
Focuses on understanding student’s trajectories from the beginning of high school into higher education and the workforce
2013 Update
Conducted in the summer and fall of 2013, when most students had graduated from high school
For more information about HSLS:09, please visit
Data
Note that the data for this analysis come from In 2016, the FAFSA process changed, such that students were able to fill out the FAFSA earlier and use earlier income information.

7. Of fall 2009 ninth-graders who graduated from high school, what percentage of students or their parents reported completing a FAFSA?
What were the reasons that students reported for not completing a FAFSA?
Did he reasons that students reported that they did not fill out the FAFSA vary by student, family, or school characteristics?
Study Questions

8. Figure 1. Percentage distribution of fall 2009 ninth-graders, by completion status of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): 2013
FAFSA completion status
Among fall 2009 ninth-graders who graduated from high school, approximately 65 percent of students reported completing a FAFSA, 24 percent did not, 3 percent did not know what a FAFSA was, and 8 percent did not know if they completed a FAFSA.
Measurable differences existed regarding the characteristics of those who did not fill out a FAFSA. Specifically, 28 percent of males did not complete the FAFSA compared to 19 percent of females; and larger percentages of White (25 percent) or Hispanic (25 percent) students did not complete the FAFSA compared to Black students (19 percent) or Asian students (16 percent).

9. Figure 2. Percentage of fall 2009 ninth-graders who did not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), by socioeconomic status: 2013
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a measure of a family’s relative social position based on: the highest education of each parent or guardian or of the single parent/guardian, where applicable; the occupational prestige score of each parent or guardian or of the single parent/guardian, where applicable; and family income.
A larger percentage of students in the lowest SES quintile (29 percent) did not complete the FAFSA compared to students in the middle three-fifths and in the highest fifth of SES (23 and 22 percent, respectively).

10. Figure 3. Percentage of fall 2009 ninth-graders who did not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), by parents' highest education: 2013
Larger percentages of students whose parents’ highest education was a high school diploma or GED (26 percent) or less (29 percent) did not complete the FAFSA, compared to students whose parents’ highest education was an associate’s degree (19 percent), bachelor’s degree (21 percent), or master’s degree or higher (23 percent).

11. Of fall 2009 ninth-graders who graduated from high school, what percentage of students or their parents reported completing a FAFSA?
What were the reasons that students reported for not completing a FAFSA?
Did he reasons that students reported that they did not fill out the FAFSA vary by student, family, or school characteristics?
Study Questions

12. Figure 4. Percentage of fall 2009 ninth-graders, by reasons for not completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): 2013
Among fall 2009 ninth-graders who graduated from high school and reported not completing a FAFSA, 33 percent thought they could afford school or college without financial aid; 32 percent thought they may be ineligible or may not qualify for financial aid; 28 percent did not want to take on debt; 23 percent did not have enough information about how to complete a FAFSA; 22 percent did not plan to continue education after high school; 15 percent did not know they could complete a FAFSA; and 9 percent thought the FAFSA forms were too much work or too time-consuming.
Respondents could select one or more reasons for not completing a FAFSA.

13. Of fall 2009 ninth-graders who graduated from high school, what percentage of students or their parents reported completing a FAFSA?
What were the reasons that students reported for not completing a FAFSA?
Did he reasons that students reported that they did not fill out the FAFSA vary by student, family, or school characteristics?
Study Questions

14. Measurable differences existed for those who reported that they did not want to take on debt.
Socioeconomic status
34% in the highest fifth
vs.
25% in the lowest fifth and 27% in the middle three fifths
Parents’ highest education
33% with a master’s degree or higher
vs.
26% with a high school diploma or GED
Measurable differences existed for those who reported that they did not want to take on debt. Among students who did not complete a FAFSA, a larger percentage of students who were in the highest SES quintile did not complete it because they did not want to take on debt, compared to students who were in the lower SES quintiles (34 percent in the highest fifth vs. 25 percent in the lowest fifth and 27 percent in the middle three fifths). A larger percentage of students whose parents’ highest education was a master’s degree or higher did not fill out the FAFSA because they did not want to take on debt than did students whose parents’ highest education was a high school diploma or GED (33 vs. 26 percent).

15. Figure 7. Percentage of fall 2009 ninth-graders without a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), whose reason for not completing a FAFSA was because they or their family did not have enough information about how to complete it, by parents’ highest education: 2013
Some students reported that they did not complete a FAFSA because they did not have enough information about how to complete it. Among students who did not complete a FAFSA, larger percentages of students whose parents’ highest education was a high school diploma or GED (26 percent) or less (43 percent) reported that they did not fill it out because they did not have enough information about how to complete it, compared to students whose parents’ highest education was a bachelor’s degree (16 percent), or master’s or higher degree (8 percent, figure 7). Similarly, a larger percentage of students who were in the lowest SES quintile reported that they did not have enough information than did students in the higher SES quintiles (34 percent in the lowest fifth vs. 23 percent in the middle three fifths and 11 percent in the highest fifth).

16. Figure 8. Percentage of fall 2009 ninth-graders without a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), whose reason for not completing a FAFSA was because they or their family did not have enough information about how to complete it, by race/ethnicity: 2013
A larger percentage of public high school students than private high school students reported that they did not complete the FAFSA because they did not have enough information about how to complete it (24 vs. 12 percent). Additionally, 34 percent of Hispanic students and 27 percent of Black students did not complete a FAFSA because they or their family did not have enough information about how to complete it, compared to 18 percent of White students (figure 8).

17. Figure 9. Percentage of fall 2009 ninth-graders without a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), whose reason for not completing a FAFSA was because they or their family thought they may be ineligible or may not qualify, by socioeconomic status: 2013
Some students reported that they did not complete a FAFSA because they thought they may be ineligible or may not qualify. Among students who did not complete a FAFSA, larger percentages of Asian students (50 percent) or Hispanic students (38 percent) reported that they thought they may be ineligible or may not qualify, compared to students who were White (31 percent) or Black (20 percent). A larger percentage of private high school students than public high school students reported that they did not complete a FAFSA because they thought they may be ineligible or may not qualify (52 vs. 31 percent).
Measurable differences by parents’ highest education and SES also existed. A larger percentage of students whose parents’ highest education was a master’s degree or higher thought they may be ineligible or may not qualify for financial aid (49 percent), compared to students whose parents’ highest education was a bachelor’s degree (40 percent), associate’s degree (27 percent), high school diploma or GED (34 percent), or less (37 percent). Similarly, a larger percentage of students who were in the highest SES quintile reported that they thought they may be ineligible or may not qualify, compared to students who were in the lower SES quintiles (52 percent in the highest fifth vs. 27 percent in the middle three fifths and 29 percent in the lowest fifth, figure 9).

18. To be eligible to receive federal student aid, one must
Figure 10. Percentage of fall 2009 ninth-graders without a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), who did not complete a FAFSA because they or their family thought they would not qualify for financial aid, by the reasons why they thought they would not qualify: 2013
This analysis explores the reasons why the students did not complete the FAFSA by outlining the percentages of students who reported various explanations for thinking that they may not qualify for financial aid. Among fall 2009 ninth-graders who graduated from high school and reported not completing a FAFSA because they or their family thought they would not qualify for financial aid, 62 percent thought their family’s income was too high to qualify; 26 percent thought they would not qualify because another family member did not qualify; 25 percent thought they would not qualify because their grades or test scores were too low; 19 percent thought they would not qualify because of concerns about a credit score; and 18 percent thought attending school or college part-time would not qualify them for financial aid (figure 10).
These items were identified as having high nonresponse—less than an 85 percent response rate. Therefore, further breakdown by student, family, and school characteristics are not discussed due to reporting standards.
To be eligible to receive federal student aid, one must
be a citizen or eligible noncitizen of the United States;
have a valid Social Security Number;
have a high school diploma or GED, or have completed homeschooling;
be enrolled in an eligible program as a regular student seeking a degree or certificate;
maintain satisfactory academic progress;
not owe a refund on a federal student grant or be in default on a federal student loan;
register (or already be registered) with the Selective Service System, if you are a male and not currently on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces; and
not have a conviction for the possession or sale of illegal drugs for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid.

19. Find Out More
To download this Statistics in Brief, or to view this report online, go to:
Undergraduates Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid (NCES ).
Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 2011–12 (Web Tables) (NCES ).
Getting Ready for College: Financial Concerns and Preparation Among the High School Senior Class of 2003−04 (NCES ).
Readers of our brief may be interested in the following NCES reports:

20. DISCUSSION
Differences in FAFSA completion and reasons for FAFSA non-completion exist
Students offer several reasons for FAFSA non-completion
Eligibility concerns
Lack of information
Misperceptions about eligibility requirements persist
The findings in this brief provide a nationally-representative picture of what many practitioners likely already know.
We found variation in the percentages of students who didn’t complete the FAFSA and variation in the percentages of students who reported various reasons for non-completion
This variation – aligns with past research: basically, our findings continue to support research that demonstrates that traditionally under-served students still face disadvantages with respect to FAFSA completion
FAFSA non-completion reasons: relatively high percentages of students who didn’t complete the FAFSA offered reasons that are changeable – policy and practice – specifically – many said they weren’t sure whether they were eligible, and many said they lacked information about how to complete the FAFSA
Deeper dive with respect to confusion over eligibility: many students reported that they thought they couldn’t fill out a FAFSA …for reasons that have nothing to do with FAFSA eligibility requirements

21. Persistent challenges
DISCUSSION
Promising strategies
Persistent challenges
Creative solutions
Attendees include representatives from
College access/persistence organizations
State departments of education or financial aid offices
Federal department of education/financial aid
Institutions (secondary and postsecondary)
Businesses/workforce organizations
We know you see these findings play out daily in your work. We want to open it up to a group discussion to learn from the expertise of people in the room – we have representatives from (see above). We hope to facilitate a conversation that includes all in the room. Organize discussion around three key ideas:
What are some promising strategies that you/your organization has used to address problems highlighted in this research?
Despite your efforts, what persistent challenges remain?
How can we learn from each other to develop new and creative solutions to these persistent challenges?
Let’s start with this first question – state your name, where you work, and tell us some of the successes you’ve seen – we’ll help moderate discussion to keep it orderly, but please feel free to respond to each other – ask questions of each other, build on others’ ideas.
Prompts for keeping the conversation going:
Strategies
Federal TRIO programs
Upward Bound
State support programs
GEAR UP grants
Institution/organization support programs?
Information sharing?
Process – changes to FAFSA?
Challenges
Resource issues at the school level (see info on counselors below)
Resources issues at the student level
First-generation college students
Resource issues at the organization level
Resource issues at the state level
Solutions
Implications
-School resources
-Counselors – In public schools with at least one full- or part-time counselor in the 2015–16 school year, there was a ratio of 380 students per FTE counselor. >
NCES – Public High School Students’ Use of Graduation, Career, or Education Plans
This Data Point looks at public high school students’ use of graduation, career, or education plans as of 2012.
“Although 44 percent of public high school students were asked to develop a plan, fewer students submitted their plan to their school or reviewed the plan with school staff at least annually.
Only 39 percent of the public high school students who were asked to develop a plan submitted their plan to their school, and only about half (51 percent) of the students who were asked to develop a plan met with school staff to review or revise the plan (not in figures; see
Thus, only 17 percent of all students reported that they developed a plan that they submitted to their school, and only 22 percent of all students developed a plan and met with school staff at least once a year to review or revise their plan (figure 2). Overall, 11 percent of all students reported that they did all three—they developed a plan, submitted their plan to their school, and met with school staff at least once a year to review or revise the plan.”