What does FAFSA Completion Rate mean?

The FAFSA completion rate is the estimated percentage of North Carolina high school seniors completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

What does this data show?

North Carolina’s FAFSA completion rate for 2024 is 55%.

By 2030, the goal is that 80% of North Carolina high school seniors will complete the FAFSA. This goal was set by the myFutureNC Commission.

Why does FAFSA Completion Rate matter?

Completing the FAFSA is strongly and positively associated with postsecondary enrollment. An analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that 88% of high school seniors who completed a FAFSA in 2012-13 had attended college by February 2016, but only 49% of students who did not file a FAFSA had attended college by February 2016.

FAFSA completion is necessary for students to receive federal student aid, including loans and grants; it is also used by many states and colleges to determine student eligibility for state and school aid. Many students who are eligible for financial aid don’t ever fill out their FAFSA form. High school seniors in the most economically distressed districts are less likely to complete the FAFSA than students from wealthier districts.

In North Carolina, students from lower-income districts were less likely to complete the FAFSA than students from higher-income districts, according to an analysis by the National College Attainment Network. In 2019, 54% of students from school districts at the 25th percentile of district poverty completed the FAFSA compared to 48% of students from school districts at the 75th percentile of poverty. 

This leaves money on the table—lots of it. A 2014 research paper analyzing national data about financial aid non-applicants estimated that college students who didn’t complete the form were missing out on $24 billion in Pell Grants, subsidized student loans, work-study, and state aid programs. According to the National College Attainment Network, the high school class of 2023 left over $4 billion dollars on the table from Pell Grants alone.

How is North Carolina performing?

In 2024, the North Carolina FAFSA completion rate was 55%, 25 percentage points below the state goal of 80%. Please note that in the 2024-2025 FAFSA cycle, due to a delay in the Better FAFSA’s opening, there were three fewer months for completing the FAFSA application in comparison to previous year.

Methodology

Where does the data for the FAFSA completion rate come from?

The FAFSA completions rates data was obtained from the College Foundation of North Carolina’s FAFSA Tracker which uses FAFSA completion data from the Federal Student Aid, an office at the Department of Education, and student data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Statistical Profile. The number of students is pulled from month two of the Principal’s Monthly Report (PMR).

How was the data calculated?

The data was calculated using the following equation:

Who is included?

FAFSA completion data represents the share of all high school seniors attending public schools who filed a FAFSA for the following academic year by the summer after high school graduation.

For example, students who are high school seniors during the 2023-24 school year could begin to submit applications for the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle on December 31, 2023. In the 2024-2025 FAFSA cycle there were three fewer months for completing the FAFSA application due to the delay in opening Better FAFSA. In prior year students could begin to submit applications October 1st. This analysis focuses on applications that are submitted by the summer after these students graduate high school – those submitted by September 27, 2024.

Federal Student Aid defines high school seniors as “first-time filing applicants no older than 19 at the cutoff date who will have received their high school diploma by the start of the school year to which they are applying for aid.”

Who isn’t included?

Overall, FAFSA completion rates are underestimated and may impact certain areas or schools more than others. High schools with fewer than five FAFSA completers are not reported by Federal Student Aid.

The FAFSA application does not ask whether the applicant is a high school senior and Federal Student Aid estimates a student’s status based on a series of assumptions. Federal Student Aid notes that the following students are not included in the high school data:

• students who report (incorrectly or otherwise) that they will receive anything other than a high school diploma.
• students who have filed a FAFSA in a previous cycle, regardless of whether they attended college.
• students who report that they will be anything but an incoming first-year undergraduate.

This is not a comprehensive list. You can find a more complete list of data details and assumptions on FAFSA Tracker website or the FAFSA completion website.

Learn more

Who is working on this in NC?

Name: College Advising Corps

Scope: Partnership at universities throughout North Carolina

Website: https://www.cfnc.org/fafsaday

About:

College Advising Corps focuses on college enrollment and completion among low-income, first-generation college, and underrepresented high school students by delivering personalized, knowledgeable guidance on college admission, financial aid, and enrollment.

Name: College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC)

Scope: Statewide

Website: https://www.cfnc.org/fafsaday

About: A free service of the State of North Carolina that helps students plan, apply, and pay for college. In conjunction with the North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and the State Employees’ Credit Union, CFNC offers free programs to help students complete and submit the FAFSA form.

Name: Crosby Scholars

Scope: County-level

Website: https://www.crosbyscholars.org

About: The Crosby Scholars Community Partnership, helps students in public middle and high schools in Forsyth, Rowan, and Iredell Counties prepare academically, personally, and financially for college admission and other postsecondary opportunities best suited to a student’s needs, aptitudes and dreams. With a 26-year history of providing academic training, financial aid and college application workshops, advisory services, college tours and Last Dollar Grant, Crosby Scholars now serves more than 11,600 students per year.

Name: Finish the FAFSA Project

Scope: Statewide

Contact: Dr. Marcia Weston (mweston@ncseaa.edu), Associate Director for Outreach, Grants, Training, and Outreach, NC State Education Assistance Authority

About: The FINISH the FAFSA Project is a free service to public high schools in North Carolina that tracks the status of FAFSA completion rates in the state.  Through cooperative efforts with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, a match is made through a database between high school graduating seniors and FAFSAs filed. School counselors and other college access professionals working with seniors are able to monitor FAFSA completion status through a secure database.  No personal information such as income or social security information is accessible.

Name: GEAR UP

Scope: National and Statewide

Websites: https://www.northcarolina.edu/gearup

About: The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) project is a national college access initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education. To participate in GEAR UP, a school must have a student body comprised of at least 50% free and reduced price lunch enrollment.  The federal goal of GEAR UP is to significantly increase the number of students in disadvantaged communities who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

The University of North Carolina System was awarded a seven-year grant in 2012 for GEAR UP NC to provide college access and readiness services. GEAR UP NC directly engages students in partner schools starting in the 7th grade year, providing these students with academic readiness and college access support over the course of their middle and high school careers. Since 2012, GEAR UP NC has also engaged 12th grade students in partner high schools with college application and financial aid application support.

Name: North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NCASFAA)

Scope: Statewide

Website: https://www.ncasfaa.com

About: The North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NCASFAA) provides training and professional development opportunities to the financial aid community, advocates on behalf of financial aid professionals, and strives to promote educational access and choice for students.

Name: North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority

Scope: Statewide

Website: http://www.ncseaa.edu/

About: North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) provides a number of services to the State of North Carolina including administration of the state’s four postsecondary educational grant programs, the “529” National College Savings Program, and the State scholarship grants for parents sending children to private K-12 institutions. NCSEAA also promotes access to financial aid resources through outreach activities with school counselors, financial aid administrators, and college access professionals.

Further research and literature

Eberle-Sudre, K. (2015). The FAFSA Divide: Getting More Low-Income Students to Apply for Aid. Retrieved November 27, 2019, from https://edtrust.org/the-equity-line/the-fasfa-divide-getting-more-low-income-students-to-apply-for-aid/.

Kofoed, M. (2014). To Apply or Not to Apply: FAFSA Completion and Financial Aid Gaps. Retrieved November 27, 2019 from http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2353846.

National College Access Network. (2017). An Analysis of the Relationship Between School District Poverty and FAFSA Completion in June 2016 and June 2017. Washington, DC: National College Access Network.

National College Attainment Network. (n.d.). Why Invest in Increasing FAFSA Completion? Retrieved December 1, 2019, from https://www.ncan.org/news/news.asp?id=480053

National College Attainment Network (2024, January 11). NCAN Report: In 2023, High School Seniors Left Over $4 Billion on the Table in Pell Grants. Retrieved November 5, 2024, from https://www.ncan.org/news/662266/NCAN-Report-In-2023-High-School-Seniors-Left-Over-4-Billion-on-the-Table-in-Pell-Grants

Reeves, R. V., & Guyot, K. (2018, May 7). FAFSA completion rates matter: But mind the data. Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://www.brookings.edu/research/fafsa-completion-rates-matter-but-mind-the-data/.