FAFSA Completions Down In OH: How Cleveland Area Schools Compare

Cleveland OH

23 April, 2021

4:27 PM

Description

CLEVELAND, OH — Among the many disruptions caused by the pandemic is a decline in the number of students filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is used to apply for college financial aid. FAFSA form completions are often seen as a harbinger of future enrollment. The decline of applications this year, especially among low-income students, has some experts worried. "This year is clawing back relative to last year, but it's still not a good FAFSA completion situation," said Bill DeBaun, director of data and evaluation for the National College Attainment Network. Nationally, the total number of FAFSA completions is down 6.7 percent through the week ending April 9 compared with the same date last year; there were 1.88 million applications last year compared with 1.75 million this year. There has been improvement in recent weeks and the situation is looking more optimsitic compared to the fall; in November 2020 there was a year-over-year percent drop of 16.8 percent in FAFSA completions. In Ohio, there were 48,864 FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021, compared with 53,734 completions at the same point last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of FAFSA data. That is a 9.1 percent drop. (See how Cleveland area high schools did at bottom of article.) At this point, it's hard to say whether the decline in FAFSA applications suggests a decline in college enrollment for the fall 2021 semester, DeBaun said. "If we don't help students complete the milestones now, there is no guarantee that they will hop on a postsecondary path in the fall," he said. Freshman enrollment dropped 13 percent nationally in fall 2020, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. The largest decrease occurred at community colleges. Total undergraduate enrollment was down 4.4 percent in the fall. Other changes are at hand in the college application process this year. Many top-tier schools made test scores optional and saw a massive surge in applications, according to The New York Times. At the same time many smaller schools and state colleges reported a drop in applicants. The decline in FAFSA applications is owing largely to the coronavirus pandemic, DeBaun said. The high school senior class of 2021 experienced disruption for part of its junior year and all of its senior year, including restricted access to high school-based help with completion of FAFSA forms. The FAFSA process isn't intuitive for many students and their families. Primary support often comes from school-based financial aid events.  Completion rates have declined even faster at Title 1 high schools, meaning those where low-income students make up at least 40 percent of enrollment. The completion rate dropped 9.4 percent this year at Title 1 schools as of April 9, compared with 4.6 percent for non-Title 1 schools, according to NCAN's FAFSA status tracker. In Ohio, there was a 17.8 percent drop among completed applications from Title 1 schools compared with a 5.5 percent drop for non-Title 1 school applications as of March 26. The widening gap is largely due to the disruption in support that schools give families in completing the FAFSA. Here is how schools in the Cleveland area are doing with FAFSA completion as of March 26. See more Cleveland area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools. School: EAST TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL District: CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 10 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 27 Percent change: -62.96 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE DIGITAL ARTS District: CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 18 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 37 Percent change: -51.35 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: NEW TECHNOLOGY WEST District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 19 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 39 Percent change: -51.28 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SHAW HIGH SCHOOL District:EAST CLEVELAND CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Municipality: EAST CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 19 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 37 Percent change: -48.65 Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: GARRETT MORGAN SCHL OF SCIENCE SCHOOL District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 11 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 18 Percent change: -38.89 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: CLEVELAND SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & MEDICINE District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 62 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 94 Percent change: -34.04Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: NORTHEAST OHIO COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL District:NORTHEAST OHIO COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 9 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 12 Percent change: -25 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: HORIZON SCIENCE ACAD CLEVELAND District:HORIZON SCIENCE ACAD CLEVELAND Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 31 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 41 Percent change: -24.39Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: NORMANDY HIGH SCHOOL District:PARMA CITY Municipality: PARMA Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 103 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 134 Percent change: -23.13Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: CLEVELAND EARLY COLLEGE HIGH District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 51 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 66 Percent change: -22.73Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL District:LAKEWOOD CITY Municipality: LAKEWOOD Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 151 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 173 Percent change: -12.72Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: DESIGN LAB @ HEALTH CAREERS District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 8 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 9 Percent change: -11.11Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: CLEVELAND SCHOOL OF THE ARTS HIGH SCHOOL District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 68 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 76 Percent change: -10.53Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: CLEVELAND SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 46 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 51 Percent change: -9.8Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: JANE ADDAMS BUSINESS CAREERS HIGH SCHOOL District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 11 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 12 Percent change: -8.33Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SHAKER HTS HIGH SCHOOL District:SHAKER HEIGHTS CITY Municipality: SHAKER HEIGHTS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 211 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 222 Percent change: -4.95Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: CUYAHOGA HTS HIGH SCHOOL District:CUYAHOGA HEIGHTS LOCAL Municipality: CUYAHOGA HEIGHTS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 33 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 32 Percent change: +3.12Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: GARFIELD HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL District:GARFIELD HEIGHTS CITY SCHOOLS Municipality: GARFIELD HEIGHTS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 91 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 87 Percent change: +4.6Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: INVICTUS HIGH SCHOOL District:INVICTUS HIGH SCHOOL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 9 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 7 Percent change: +28.57Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: OHIO CONNECTIONS ACADEMY INC District:OHIO CONNECTIONS ACADEMY INC Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 104 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 71 Percent change: +46.48Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: PROMISE ACADEMY District:PROMISE ACADEMY Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: N/A Percent change: N/ATitle 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: REGENT HIGH SCHOOL District:REGENT HIGH SCHOOL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: N/A Percent change: N/ATitle 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: CLEVELAND ACADEMY FOR SCHOLARSHIP TECHNOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP District:CLEVELAND ACADEMY FOR SCHOLARSHIP TECHNOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 5 Percent change: N/ATitle 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CAMPUS District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 12 Percent change: N/ATitle 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: NEW TECHNOLOGY HS@EAST TECH District:CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL Municipality: CLEVELAND Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 12 Percent change: N/ATitle 1 status:Title I schoolwide Click here to see the numbers for more Cleveland area high schools. Any student who is even remotely considering attending college in the fall should fill out the FAFSA, DeBaun said. Some colleges have been more flexible with their aid deadlines. "If you have any aspiration for attending in the fall, it's still important to fill out the FAFSA," he said, "and it's not too late to do so." Editor's note: This list was automatically generated using FAFSA data analyzed by the Associated Press. Information isn't available for all schools. Schools with fewer than five completions are omitted from the data. Please report any errors or other feedback to [email protected].