FAFSA Completions Down In TX: How Arlington Area Schools Compare

Arlington TX

23 April, 2021

4:30 PM

Description

ARLINGTON, TX — 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 Texas, there were 144,754 FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021, compared with 158,650 completions at the same point last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of FAFSA data. That is an 8.8 percent drop. (See how Arlington 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 Texas, there was a 13.1 percent drop among completed applications from Title 1 schools compared with a 0.3 percent increase 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 Arlington area are doing with FAFSA completion as of March 26. See more Arlington area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools. School: TARRANT CO COLLEGE SOUTH/FORT WORTH COLLEGIATE H S District: FORT WORTH ISD Municipality: FORT WORTH Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 20 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 47 Percent change: -57.45 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: NEWMAN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ARLINGTON District: NEWMAN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ARLINGTON Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 19 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 27 Percent change: -29.63 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: LAMAR H S District:ARLINGTON ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 200 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 267 Percent change: -25.09 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SAM HOUSTON H S District:ARLINGTON ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 222 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 281 Percent change: -21 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: EASTERN HILLS H S District:FORT WORTH ISD Municipality: FORT WORTH Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 90 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 112 Percent change: -19.64 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: KENNEDALE H S District:KENNEDALE ISD Municipality: KENNEDALE Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 107 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 129 Percent change: -17.05Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SEGUIN H S District:ARLINGTON ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 180 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 217 Percent change: -17.05 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MARTIN H S District:ARLINGTON ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 387 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 435 Percent change: -11.03Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: ARLINGTON H S District:ARLINGTON ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 260 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 280 Percent change: -7.14Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MANSFIELD TIMBERVIEW H S District:MANSFIELD ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 200 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 205 Percent change: -2.44Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: ARLINGTON COLLEGIATE H S District:ARLINGTON ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 70 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 71 Percent change: -1.41Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MANSFIELD SUMMIT H S District:MANSFIELD ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 211 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 212 Percent change: -0.47Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: VENTURE ALTER H S District:ARLINGTON ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 10 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 10 Percent change: 0Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: BOWIE H S District:ARLINGTON ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 273 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 261 Percent change: +4.6Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: DUNBAR H S District:FORT WORTH ISD Municipality: FORT WORTH Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 79 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 67 Percent change: +17.91Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: KEYS H S District:HURST-EULESS-BEDFORD ISD Municipality: EULESS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 6 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 5 Percent change: +20Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: O D WYATT H S District:FORT WORTH ISD Municipality: FORT WORTH Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 204 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 162 Percent change: +25.93Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY - EULESS District:HARMONY SCIENCE ACAD (WACO) Municipality: EULESS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 51 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 30 Percent change: +70Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: UPLIFT SUMMIT INTERNATIONAL H S District:UPLIFT EDUCATION Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 75 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 33 Percent change: +127.27Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: TCCSE EARLY COLLEGE H S AT TIMBERVIEW District:MANSFIELD ISD Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 34 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: N/A Percent change: N/ATitle 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: PREMIER H S OF ARLINGTON District:PREMIER HIGH SCHOOLS Municipality: ARLINGTON Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 6 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: N/A Percent change: N/ATitle 1 status:Title I schoolwide 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].