Miami Area Completion Rates For College Aid Applications

Miami FL

23 April, 2021

4:24 PM

Description

MIAMI, FL — 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 Florida, there were 65,410 FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021, compared with 71,030 completions at the same point last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of FAFSA data. That is a 7.9 percent drop. (See how Miami 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 Florida, there was a 9.5 percent drop among completed applications from Title 1 schools compared with a 3.5 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 Miami area are doing with FAFSA completion as of March 26. See more Miami area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools. School: GREEN SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL District: MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 10 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 19 Percent change: -47.37 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS District: MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 8 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 15 Percent change: -46.67 Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide School: MIAMI CENTRAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 73 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 129 Percent change: -43.41 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: I PREPARATORY ACADEMY District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 27 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 39 Percent change: -30.77 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MIAMI JACKSON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 60 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 84 Percent change: -28.57 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SPORTS LEADERSHIP OF MIAMI CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 48 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 67 Percent change: -28.36Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MIAMI SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 243 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 328 Percent change: -25.91 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: SCHOOL FOR ADVANCED STUDIES-WOLFSON District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 47 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 57 Percent change: -17.54Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: INTERNATIONAL STUDIES CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 45 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 51 Percent change: -11.76Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: YOUNG WOMENS PREPARATORY ACADEMY District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 23 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 26 Percent change: -11.54Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MIAMI BEACH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI BEACH Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 179 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 198 Percent change: -9.6Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: CORAL GABLES SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: CORAL GABLES Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 368 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 407 Percent change: -9.58Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MATER ACADEMY EAST CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 13 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 14 Percent change: -7.14Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MAST ACADEMY District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: KEY BISCAYNE Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 165 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 171 Percent change: -3.51Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE SENIOR HIGH District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 93 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 94 Percent change: -1.06Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: NEW WORLD SCHOOL OF THE ARTS District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 94 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 94 Percent change: 0Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: BOOKER T. WASHINGTON SENIOR HIGH District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 35 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 34 Percent change: +2.94Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: ITECH@THOMAS A EDISON EDUCATIONAL CENTER District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 17 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 16 Percent change: +6.25Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MIAMI ARTS CHARTER District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 81 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 75 Percent change: +8Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: YOUNG MEN'S PREPARATORY ACADEMY District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 10 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 9 Percent change: +11.11Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MIAMI NORTHWESTERN SENIOR HIGH District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 108 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 97 Percent change: +11.34Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PREPARATORY ACADEMY District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: CORAL GABLES Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 48 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 43 Percent change: +11.63Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: WILLIAM H. TURNER TECHNICAL ARTS HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 160 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 140 Percent change: +14.29Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: MIAMI-DADE ONLINE ACADEMY- VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION PROGRAM District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 7 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 6 Percent change: +16.67Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: MIAMI EDISON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL District:MIAMI-DADE Municipality: MIAMI Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 37 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 24 Percent change: +54.17Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide Click here to see the numbers for more Miami 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].