FAFSA Completions Down In IN: How Indianapolis Area Schools Compare

Indianapolis IN

23 April, 2021

4:28 PM

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN — 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 Indiana, there were 28,876 FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021, compared with 31,528 completions at the same point last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of FAFSA data. That is an 8.4 percent drop. (See how Indianapolis 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 Indiana, there was a 12.1 percent drop among completed applications from Title 1 schools compared with a 5.9 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 Indianapolis area are doing with FAFSA completion as of March 26. See more Indianapolis area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools. School: CRISPUS ATTUCKS HIGH SCHOOL District: INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 41 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 93 Percent change: -55.91 Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide School: GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL District: INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 13 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 26 Percent change: -50 Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide School: EMMERICH MANUAL HIGH SCHOOL District:CSUSA MANUAL Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 14 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 24 Percent change: -41.67 Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: HERRON HIGH SCHOOL District:HERRON CHARTER Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 105 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 157 Percent change: -33.12 Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: BEECH GROVE SR HIGH SCHOOL District:BEECH GROVE CITY SCHOOLS Municipality: BEECH GROVE Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 53 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 76 Percent change: -30.26 Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: IRVINGTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL District:IRVINGTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 14 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 20 Percent change: -30Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: ARSENAL TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL District:INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 78 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 110 Percent change: -29.09 Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: SOUTHPORT HIGH SCHOOL District:PERRY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 177 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 238 Percent change: -25.63Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: LAWRENCE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL District:M S D LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 176 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 227 Percent change: -22.47Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: BEN DAVIS UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL District:M S D WAYNE TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 63 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 81 Percent change: -22.22Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: DECATUR CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL District:M S D DECATUR TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 140 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 179 Percent change: -21.79Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: WARREN CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL District:M S D WARREN TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 212 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 259 Percent change: -18.15Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: PIKE HIGH SCHOOL District:M S D PIKE TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 266 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 324 Percent change: -17.9Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: ACHIEVE VIRTUAL EDUCATION ACADEMY District:M S D WAYNE TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 7 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 8 Percent change: -12.5Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: IN MATH & SCIENCE ACADEMY - NORTH District:IN MATH & SCIENCE ACADEMY - NORTH Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 14 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 16 Percent change: -12.5Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: FRANKLIN CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL District:FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP COM SCH CORP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 280 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 318 Percent change: -11.95Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: PERRY MERIDIAN HIGH SCHOOL District:PERRY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 244 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 269 Percent change: -9.29Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: NEW PALESTINE HIGH SCHOOL District:SOUTHERN HANCOCK CO COM SCH CORP Municipality: NEW PALESTINE Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 142 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 152 Percent change: -6.58Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: NORTH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL District:M S D WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 358 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 382 Percent change: -6.28Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: LAWRENCE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL District:M S D LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 243 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 247 Percent change: -1.62Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: BEN DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL District:M S D WAYNE TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 289 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 293 Percent change: -1.37Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide School: ZIONSVILLE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL District:ZIONSVILLE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS Municipality: ZIONSVILLE Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 314 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 318 Percent change: -1.26Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: DECATUR TWP SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE District:M S D DECATUR TOWNSHIP Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 5 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 5 Percent change: 0Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: INDIANA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF District:INDIANA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 10 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 10 Percent change: 0Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide School: CHARLES A TINDLEY ACCELERATED SCH District:CHARLES A TINDLEY ACCELERATED SCH Municipality: INDIANAPOLIS Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 33 Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 32 Percent change: +3.12Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide Click here to see the numbers for more Indianapolis 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].