FAFSA Completions Down In CA: How Fresno Area Schools Compare

Fresno CA

23 April, 2021

4:33 PM

Description

FRESNO, CA — 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 California, there were 222,257 FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021, compared with 246,827 completions at the same point last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of FAFSA data. That is a 10.0 percent drop. (See how Fresno 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 California, there was a 14.9 percent drop among completed applications from Title 1 schools compared with a 5.0 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 Fresno area are doing with FAFSA completion as of March 26. See more Fresno area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools. School: CAMBRIDGE CONTINUATION HIGH District: FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 24 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 51 Percent change: -52.94 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: PERSHING CONTINUATION HIGH District: CENTRAL UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 5 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 10 Percent change: -50 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: CARTER G. WOODSON PUBLIC CHARTER District:CARTER G. WOODSON PUBLIC CHARTER DISTRICT Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 30 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 55 Percent change: -45.45 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: WEST PARK CHARTER ACADEMY District:WEST PARK ELEMENTARY Municipality: FRESNO 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: PHILLIP J PATINO SCHOOL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 26 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 42 Percent change: -38.1 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: CENTRAL UNIFIED ALTERNATIVE/OPPORTUNITY District:CENTRAL UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 12 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 19 Percent change: -36.84Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SCHOOL OF UNLIMITED LEARNING District:SCHOOL OF UNLIMITED LEARNING DISTRICT Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 12 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 16 Percent change: -25 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: ERMA DUNCAN POLYTECHNICAL HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 153 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 201 Percent change: -23.88Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: DEWOLF CONTINUATION HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 13 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 17 Percent change: -23.53Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: WASHINGTON HIGH District:WASHINGTON UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 134 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 172 Percent change: -22.09Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: HERBERT HOOVER HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 221 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 280 Percent change: -21.07Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: CENTRAL HIGH EAST CAMPUS District:CENTRAL UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 495 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 621 Percent change: -20.29Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SIERRA CHARTER District:SIERRA CHARTER DISTRICT Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 17 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 21 Percent change: -19.05Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: ROOSEVELT HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 278 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 331 Percent change: -16.01Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: CLOVIS WEST HIGH District:CLOVIS UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 256 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 301 Percent change: -14.95Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: CRESCENT VIEW WEST PUBLIC CHARTER District:CRESCENT VIEW WEST PUBLIC CHARTER DISTRICT Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 88 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 101 Percent change: -12.87Title 1 status:N/A School: MCLANE HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 266 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 297 Percent change: -10.44Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: FRESNO HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 310 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 344 Percent change: -9.88Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: BULLARD HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 387 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 413 Percent change: -6.3Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SUNNYSIDE HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 483 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 512 Percent change: -5.66Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: EDISON HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 425 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 440 Percent change: -3.41Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: DESIGN SCIENCE MIDDLE COLLEGE HIGH District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 59 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 61 Percent change: -3.28Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: UNIVERSITY HIGH District:UNIVERSITY HIGH DISTRICT Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 85 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 86 Percent change: -1.16Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: CLOVIS NORTH HIGH District:CLOVIS UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 431 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 425 Percent change: +1.41Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: J. E. YOUNG ACADEMIC CENTER District:FRESNO UNIFIED Municipality: FRESNO Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 58 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 51 Percent change: +13.73Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide Click here to see the numbers for more Fresno 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].