Affordability

Alessandra Cipriani-Detres, NCAN Program Associate

With the school year having started, school counselors and advisors are gearing up to support their next class of high school seniors’ postsecondary plans and endeavors. One of the first items students and families will check off the box this fall is completing their FSA ID. This will allow them to submit their FAFSA when it opens on December 1. Given the average student to counselor ratio in the US is 385:1, it is nearly impossible for advisors to keep track of every student’s FAFSA progress. This is especially problematic when advisors’ time is stretched thin, which can result in some students falling through the cracks.

One way to minimize the risk of leaving students behind is by providing counselors with access to student-level FAFSA completion data. This data can tell counselors specific information like if, and sometimes when, a FAFSA was submitted, completed, selected for verification, and more. It can allow counselors and schools to measure FAFSA completion progress, conduct outreach and follow ups to students and families, and devote more time to the students who need the most support.

A survey conducted by NCAN last year found that of 32 states, 81% of practitioners in those states were able to see indicators as to whether or not FAFSAs were completed, submitted, or not submitted. While this percentage is high, only 59% of practitioners are provided with data that shows when a FAFSA has been flagged for verification or is missing a student’s or parent’s signature. The FAFSA verification rate is three times higher for students who qualify for federal need-based Pell Grants (although verification rates were relaxed for the 2024-25 award year), and not having access to data about the students who need follow-up to complete the verification process exacerbates this inequity.

So, how do we make sure our data ducks are in a row before it starts to feel like winter and December 1 arrives? Here are some examples as to what states and schools across the nation do to ensure no student is left behind when it comes to completing their FAFSA this year.

Determine who needs to sign student-level data-sharing agreements

When it comes to student-level data, one of the biggest hurdles faced by individuals and institutions anywhere is the disconnect between who has permissions for which data. Iowa College Aid overhauled how it shares student-level FAFSA data by working with their legal team and the U.S. Department of Education who all determined that student-level data-sharing agreements with their agency only needed to be signed by regional AEA’s (Area Education Agencies), who, in turn, have data-sharing agreements with each of the schools in their region. This narrowed the number of agreements from 343 to 9 AEA-level agreements.

Create a state FAFSA completion dashboard in tandem with NCAN’s FAFSA Tracker

Access to student-level data might not go very far if it isn’t put into a format that makes sense and is visually appealing to all audiences. One way the California Student Aid Commission addressed this issue is through their Race to Submit Dashboard, which shows the percentage of completed FAFSA/CA Dream Act applications and Cal Grant Award applications at the state, county, and district levels. NCAN’s FAFSA tracker also includes a leaderboard that ranks the percentage of seniors who have completed a FAFSA. The California FAFSA data experience is straightforward, clearly laid out, and useful for practitioners.

Ensure all advisors can access student-level data

Unfortunately, stories where only one person per school district is allowed access to student level FAFSA completion data are far too common. Milwaukee, for example, has more than a dozen high schools, and yet at one point only one (or maybe two) users for the entire district were authorized to see student-level FAFSA completion data. This barrier creates more work for those who do have access to the data to get it to the advisors who need it the most. When designing data sharing agreements and policies for districts and schools to receive student-level data, states should work to ensure student privacy while providing access to practitioners in a fashion that realistically helps them drive their important work forward.

As the school year unfolds, it is crucial for counselors and advisors to prioritize access to student-level FAFSA data to support high school seniors in their postsecondary journeys. By establishing streamlined data-sharing agreements, developing intuitive dashboards, and ensuring all advisors can access this critical information, advisors can better track and assist students in completing their FAFSAs and accessing the financial aid for which they are eligible. Let’s commit to not leaving any student behind this upcoming FAFSA season!

Ainsley Ash, National College Attainment Network

In a typical FAFSA year, students would have already received admissions letters, and financial aid packages would soon follow. These offers – often referred to as award letters – are sure to spark conversations about college affordability between students, families, and college attainment professionals. The rocky rollout of the Better FAFSA means that students will receive their financial aid awards much later this year. Here are a few critical things that students and families need to know about financial aid offers when theirs do arrive.

For all of the excitement they bring, financial aid offers have a reputation for being a bit confusing. In 2018, the think tank New America and NCAN member uAspire analyzed over 500 financial aid award letters. Their research found that many of the letters used jargon, omitted the complete cost of attendance, and left students without clear next steps.

But with the right information, analyzing and comparing financial aid offers from colleges and universities is a process students and families can feasibly tackle.

The basic components of any award letter are the same. They should each include the details of the types of financial aid an institution is offering and an estimated cost of attendance. With that information, students can find the price they will actually have to pay, the “net price.”

Let’s start by breaking down the actual financial aid being offered.

Broadly, there are four types of aid: scholarships, federal and state grants, work-study, and loans.

• Scholarships do not have to be repaid. Students should pay attention to whether or not scholarships have yearly requirements, such as maintaining a certain GPA. It is also crucial to know if each scholarship is a one-time award or if it is recurring.

• Federal and state grants also do not have to be repaid. These include grants like the Pell Grant, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and state-specific grants. Eligibility is typically determined by the information students submit on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students who receive these grants will have to fill out the FAFSA every academic year to maintain their eligibility.

• Federal work-study is money that a student earns. These funds might be included in the financial aid offer as just another grant, but work-study dollars are actually earned through part-time employment on- or off-campus. Students will have to apply for work-study positions, and work-study aid is not guaranteed from year to year.

• Loans have to be repaid with interest. They are either subsidized or unsubsidized. For direct subsidized loans, the U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on these loans while the student is in school and for the six months after they leave school. For direct unsubsidized loans, interest begins accumulating while in school, and the student is responsible for this interest.

When talking to students about loans, stress to them to only take out as much as they need⁠— it’s not necessarily best to take all that is offered. For example, if the student only needs $5,000 for food and housing, but $7,500 is offered, they should only take $5,000. Students may be tempted to have the extra money in college, but they should know that they will eventually have to pay back those loans with interest, which will be far more expensive in the long run.

The award letter should show the itemized offers for the fall, the spring, and their total for the academic year. Encourage students sure to ask themselves these questions when reviewing offers:

• Will I automatically receive this aid each year?
• What are the eligibility requirements to continue receiving recurring awards?
• When do I have to accept or decline these award offers?
• If loans are offered, do I want to accept them?

Once students have added up how much money a college is offering, they should compare that against the included cost of attendance estimate.

Total Cost of Attendance = Direct Costs + Indirect Costs

• Direct costs: These are charged to the student by the university and often include tuition, room and board, and fees. This is an estimate of what the student will owe the university.
• Indirect costs: These are the student’s estimated expenses such as books and supplies, travel, and other personal expenses. Actual year-to-year costs will vary. For instance, the student may choose a less expensive housing option or might have higher travel expenses.

Once students know the financial aid offers and the costs of attendance, it’s time to find the net price if it was not included already. In New America and uAspire’s study on award letters, only 40% included a net price – the remaining out-of-pocket costs.

To calculate the net price, subtract the student’s financial aid total from cost of attendance. This is the amount that the student will actually be responsible for. A few ways to close these gaps include paying with savings or taking out additional loans.

Luckily, there are wonderful resources out there to help students and families crunch the numbers and weigh all of their options. Check out these free tools:

• “Compare Aid Awards Calculator” from BigFuture
• UAspire’s College Cost Calculator
• College Raptor’s College Offer Letter Comparison Tool

If, at the end of their calculations, students find that their financial aid is still lacking, they might consider writing a financial aid appeal letter to ask the school to potentially grant more scholarships or loan and grant options. SwiftStudent is a great resource which helps students through this process.

When deciding where to enroll, the bottom line is not the only thing to consider. Encourage students to research potential schools’ graduation and retention rates, along with how their net price stacks up against other students’. The Department of Education’s College Scorecard is a wonderful resource to make those comparisons.

If students and families feel that they’ve hit a wall, encourage them to reach out to a college’s office of financial aid to get answers.

Running the numbers, doing the research, and comparing schools is not the most exciting work, but it is well worth the excitement that accompanies the final product: making a decision about the future that students and their families can feel good about.

Here are some of the common challenges we’re seeing in FAFSA completion, and some suggested work-arounds. You can also check Federal Student Aid’s FAFSA Issue Alerts page for regular status updates, resources, and workarounds.

Make sure the parent information a student enters matches the information on the parent’s FSA ID – email, phone, social security number, and date of birth.  

If a contributor does not receive the email inviting them to contribute to the FAFSA, or if the link does not work, they should log in to their StudentAid.gov account and start the FAFSA there.  

Students should add every college they are considering to the FAFSA. They cannot make corrections until March, which includes adding a school.  Better to have extra schools you don’t need! 

If there is an asterisk by the student’s Student Aid Index (SAI) on their confirmation email, this means they have been flagged for verification.  Verification will not start until March, but the student should watch for communication from their institution.  

When searching for a college/institution name, it may be difficult to locate. A google search of the college/institution FAFSA school code could save you time.  

Many early FAFSA filers have received confirmation pages with a message indicating that an estimated Student Aid Index cannot be calculated due to a missing signature. Students must wait until the form processes (March) before logging back into their FAFSA to provide a signature.  

Be sure to read the ‘Apply For Direct Unsubsidized Loan Only’ question carefully. A student should select ‘yes’ ONLY if their parent(s) is completely unwilling to provide information but the student does not have an unusual circumstance. Most students will select ‘no’. If a students selects ‘yes’ on accident, they will not be able to make a correction to the form until mid-March after their form is processed.

Federal Student Aid (FSA) announces a phased release for the 2024-2025 form. Here are the latest updates:  

• The 2024-2025 form will open by December 31, 2023 
• After FAFSA submission, students will receive a confirmation email with their Pell Grant eligibility and estimated Student Aid Index (SAI).  Colleges and universities will not begin to receive Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) until later in January. This will likely delay financial aid offers to mid-to late-February at the earliest.  
• Contributors without an SSN will be able to begin creating their FSA IDs on the same day the FAFSA opens. Read more about this process from our colleagues at NCAN.  
• The paper FAFSA will be available on the same day the online FAFSA application becomes available. The online and paper FAFSA applications will be available in both English and Spanish. 

Read the full Federal Student Aid Announcement here.

Continue to check MOFAFSA.org for updates and resources.