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Dive Brief:
- Roughly 3% fewer students renewed their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as of May compared to a year ago, according to new data from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN).
- Meanwhile, administrators report an uptick in students asking them to reevaluate their financial aid awards, a new survey finds.
- Both reports point to the pandemic-related financial struggles many students will likely face in the coming academic year, which could prevent some from enrolling in the fall.
Dive Insight:
NCAN already determined that FAFSA renewals were declining steeply through mid-April, a decrease of about 350,000 students compared to the year before, many of them from low-income households.
The analysis suggested fewer students would return to college for the fall semester, as the economic fallout from the pandemic has made it difficult for them to pay. NCAN’s most recent findings show a slight improvement in the trajectory of renewals, though they still lagged compared to last year.
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