Following a dismal spring of FAFSA submissions due to the disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus, renewals of the application for federal financial aid are starting to level out, registering just a 1% decrease through the middle of June compared to the same time last year.
Bill DeBaun, director of data and evaluation at the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), tracks FAFSA completions and renewals by logging the data provided by Federal Student Aid (FSA) bi-monthly and said the recent figures are encouraging.
Both new FAFSA submissions and renewals suffered a sharp decline from February into April as the pandemic turned the academic calendar upside down and forced high school students across the country to finish the school year from home.
Renewal data through April 15 showed a 4% drop compared to the same time last year — the worst point in 2020.
DeBaun attributed the near-return to normal to a strong showing in May and the first half in June, as well as a change in his methodology so that he now accounts for completions and renewals that were previously on hold.