Texas pushing FAFSA ahead of deadline
Efforts across Texas to encourage aspiring college students to fill out their free application for federal student aid forms ahead of a Jan. 15 deadline have taken on new urgency after 100,000 fewer high school students nationwide completed the forms that were due in summer 2021.
Colleges and universities use the applications to examine how much financial need a student has for scholarships. The federal priority deadline for high school seniors is Feb. 1, although the socalled FAFSA applications are accepted through April 1. Thousands of dollars in Federal Pell Grants are available for students in need, and those students can also access loans at favorable rates.
In July 2020, more than 2 million applications were filed by high school seniors nationwide, data from the National College Attainment Network show. The high school class of 2021 filled out nearly 5 percent fewer of the applications, or about 102,000 less. About 18 million students seeking college financial aid file the application each year, in total.
In addition to federal student aid, the applications can be submitted for student aid from Texas, typically offered to students to stay in-state for college. Texas’ state deadline is Jan. 15.
“I think that it is important that we help each other and we help the students here in high schools like mine, where sometimes it’s a bit harder for parents to be able to support the student, so sometimes it’s necessary to have those resources available for students,” said Nataly Martinez, a spring 2021 graduate of Eastside Early College High School in Austin, at an event held by Austin ISD where students and parents were offered assistance with filling out the 108question form.
Martinez, an academic junior at the University of North Texas, is the first person in her family to attend college. She said she completed 62 credit hours while still in high school.
The questions on the form are often technical, and the family’s 2020 income taxes must be completed before a FAFSA can be submitted for the household. The process can be especially difficult for families in which English is a second language or for those who have never had to prepare the documents before, like Martinez’s. For high school students who need help filling out the form, information is available online or from college counselors at their schools.
She thanked two staff members with the district, crediting them with helping her complete it.
“I am extremely thankful that I had them, because otherwise I would not be able to attend college today. It was because of the
resources that I was able to find on this campus that I was able to pursue my college dream,” Martinez said.
School districts, local education nonprofits, business groups such as local chambers of commerce and other organizations often hold events or make resources available to prospective students and their families. Average earnings for college graduates are higher than non graduates, so whole communities benefit from increased college attendance and affordability.
FAFSA help breaks into three categories, said Darrin Hanson, the director of college readiness for Houston ISD, the largest school district in the state: direct student or family support, professional development and public awareness.
Houston ISD hosts events it calls “Financial Aid Roadshows” where district staff and local experts are made directly available to families to help them fill out their FAFSAS or answer questions. Professional development refers to the behind-thescenes work to prepare the experts for those events, and they occur throughout the year, Hanson said.
There are also online resources including videos to help families fill out the FAFSA, and some districts send text messages or emails to check in with students and families and to
“I am extremely thankful that I had them, because otherwise I would not be able to attend college today.”
Nataly Martinez, a spring 2021 graduate of Eastside Early College High School in Austin
remind them of deadlines.
“Each year there are millions of dollars of federal student assistance that go unclaimed,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, an Austin Democrat, speaking at the Austin event. “We have barriers that stand in the way of too many students in our community and coming right out of the school from getting the education that they need and want to achieve, and this morning we’re trying to do something about it.”