Putting Financial Aid for College in Closer Reach Kim Cook, Executive Director National College Access Network

2 3.4 million 2.4 million 2 million High School Seniors/Graduates Students graduated from high school in 2014/15 High school seniors that filled out the FAFSA in 2014/2015 High school graduates enrolled in college in October (66%) 2 SOURCES: NCES, April 2014, Bureau of Labor Statistics: College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2013 High School Graduates, April 2014.

3 High School FAFSA Submissions 3 FAFSA submission rates by graduating high school seniors are at a four-year high through the first six months of the 2016 Cycle FAFSA.

4 High School FAFSA Submissions 4 Note: Rates are calculated as the number of applications completed by those believed to be high school seniors based on several assumptions divided by estimated class of 2015 graduating seniors by state obtained from Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

Equity Challenges

6 FAFSA completion is strongly associated with college enrollment.

7 FAFSA filing increases college completion.

8 Federal student aid is a too well-kept secret. Surveys show that lack of information/misperception are the biggest reasons individuals fail to file FAFSA.

9 Progress to Date 99% file online Skip logic guides students through form quickly, skipping over unnecessary questions IRS Data Retrieval Tool Prior-prior year and early FAFSA to begin October 2016

10 Further Simplification Financial Aid Simplification and Transparency Act

11 Further Simplification Reconsider treatment of assets Remove 23 income-related questions not available through the IRS, including –Untaxed veterans’ benefits –Child support payments –Tax-exempt payments to clergy

12 Further Simplification Screening to one of three levels: –SNAP or SSI beneficiary –Filed a tax return –Completed a tax return with forms or schedules

13 Further Simplification Eliminate questions that have minimal impact on most filers Use only IRS data elements for EFC EFC forumla based on IRS schedule filing

14 What You Can Do Tell your Congressional representatives that FAFSA should be simpler. Help students share their stories. Follow NCAN on Twitter for updates. Join the NCAN Rapid Response Policy Team