2021 College Aid: How Salt Lake City Area Compares In Application Rates

Salt Lake City UT

23 April, 2021

4:22 PM

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT — 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 Utah, there were 13,081 FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021, compared with 14,397 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 Salt Lake City 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 Utah, there was a 23.8 percent drop among completed applications from Title 1 schools compared with an 8.7 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 Salt Lake City area are doing with FAFSA completion as of March 26. See more Salt Lake City area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools. School: AMERICAN PREPARATORY ACADEMY - THE SCHOOL FOR NEW AMERICANS District: AMERICAN PREPARATORY ACADEMY - LEA Municipality: WEST VALLEY CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 6 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 33 Percent change: -81.82 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: SALT LAKE SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS District: SALT LAKE SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 15 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 29 Percent change: -48.28 Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide School: EAST HOLLYWOOD HIGH District:EAST HOLLYWOOD HIGH Municipality: WEST VALLEY CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 9 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 15 Percent change: -40 Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: GRANGER HIGH District:GRANITE DISTRICT Municipality: WEST VALLEY CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 139 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 190 Percent change: -26.84 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: HUNTER HIGH District:GRANITE DISTRICT Municipality: WEST VALLEY CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 157 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 213 Percent change: -26.29 Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: INNOVATIONS HIGH SCHOOL District:SALT LAKE DISTRICT Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 17 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 23 Percent change: -26.09Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: SALT LAKE CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION District:SALT LAKE CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 31 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 40 Percent change: -22.5 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: EAST HIGH District:SALT LAKE DISTRICT Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 144 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 178 Percent change: -19.1Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: MORGAN HIGH District:MORGAN DISTRICT Municipality: MORGAN Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 74 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 90 Percent change: -17.78Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: HIGHLAND HIGH District:SALT LAKE DISTRICT Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 142 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 150 Percent change: -5.33Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: CYPRUS HIGH District:GRANITE DISTRICT Municipality: MAGNA Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 142 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 146 Percent change: -2.74Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: WEST HIGH District:SALT LAKE DISTRICT Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 218 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 187 Percent change: +16.58Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: SKYLINE HIGH District:GRANITE DISTRICT Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 260 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 216 Percent change: +20.37Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: AMERICAN PREPARATORY ACADEMY - ACCELERATED SCHOOL District:AMERICAN PREPARATORY ACADEMY - LEA Municipality: WEST VALLEY CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 34 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 28 Percent change: +21.43Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: UTAH INTERNATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOL District:UTAH INTERNATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOL Municipality: SOUTH SALT LAKE Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 23 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 17 Percent change: +35.29Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: HORIZONTE INSTRUCTION & TRAINING CENTER District:SALT LAKE DISTRICT Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 9 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 6 Percent change: +50Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: VANGUARD ACADEMY District:VANGUARD ACADEMY Municipality: WEST VALLEY CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 32 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 13 Percent change: +146.15Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: ROOTS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL District:ROOTS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL Municipality: WEST VALLEY CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 6 Percent change: N/ATitle 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: CITY ACADEMY District:CITY ACADEMY Municipality: SALT LAKE CITY Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 6 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].