College Financial Aid Applications In Orange County Area: Compare To CA

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Applications for federal college financial aid are notably lower this year, and that could mean fewer freshmen when classes begin this fall.

Prospective college students can fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to qualify for subsidized student loans and other forms of aid. FAFSA applications declined 5.8 percent nationally this year compared with the same time last year. About 1.72 million students completed the application as of June 25, compared with 1.83 million in 2020, according to an Associated Press analysis of FAFSA data.

As of February this year, FAFSA applications were down 10 percent from last year. But the completion rate increased in the spring, when schools could hold more in-school FAFSA help events that were canceled last year because of the pandemic.

A decline in the FAFSA completion rate could be a harbinger of lower enrollment in the fall. The class of 2020 had 3.7 percent fewer FAFSA applications than the class of 2019; postsecondary enrollment dropped 6.8 percent between the class of 2020 and 2019, according to the National College Attainment Network.

In California, 242,866 FAFSA applications were completed as of June 25, compared with 265,252 completions at the same point last year. That is an 8.4 percent decrease. (See how Orange County area high schools compare below.)

The decline is steeper among Title 1 high schools, meaning those where low-income students make up at least 40 percent of enrollment. Title 1 high school completions dropped 8.83 percent, compared with a 3.86 decrease for non-Title 1 schools.

In California, completed applications dropped 12.5 percent from Title 1 schools, compared with a 4.6 percent drop for non-Title 1 school applications as of June 25.

Here is how schools in the Orange County area are doing with FAFSA completion as of June 25. See more Orange County area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools. FAFSA data only counts students who are no older than 19.

School: Fountain Valley High
District: Huntington Beach Union High
Municipality: Fountain Valley

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 576
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 565
• Percent change: 1.95
• Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide

School: Los Alamitos High
District: Los Alamitos Unified
Municipality: Los Alamitos

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 507
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 478
• Percent change: 6.07
• Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide

School: Cypress High
District:Anaheim Union High
Municipality: Cypress

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 506
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 460
• Percent change: 10
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Aliso Niguel High
District:Capistrano Unified
Municipality: Aliso Viejo

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 477
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 518
• Percent change: -7.92
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Arnold O. Beckman High
District:Tustin Unified
Municipality: Irvine

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 474
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 443
• Percent change: 7
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: La Quinta High
District:Garden Grove Unified
Municipality: Westminster

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 466
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 462
• Percent change: 0.87
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Troy High
District:Fullerton Joint Union High
Municipality: Fullerton

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 462
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 492
• Percent change: -6.1
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Huntington Beach High
District:Huntington Beach Union High
Municipality: Huntington Beach

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 443
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 465
• Percent change: -4.73
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Segerstrom High
District:Santa Ana Unified
Municipality: Santa Ana

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 434
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 521
• Percent change: -16.7
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Hector G. Godinez
District:Santa Ana Unified
Municipality: Santa Ana

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 420
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 463
• Percent change: -9.29
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Katella High
District:Anaheim Union High
Municipality: Anaheim

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 412
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 465
• Percent change: -11.4
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Valencia High
District:Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified
Municipality: Placentia

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 411
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 425
• Percent change: -3.29
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Trabuco Hills High
District:Saddleback Valley Unified
Municipality: Mission Viejo

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 408
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 426
• Percent change: -4.23
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: John F. Kennedy High
District:Anaheim Union High
Municipality: La Palma

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 400
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 405
• Percent change: -1.23
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Garden Grove High
District:Garden Grove Unified
Municipality: Garden Grove

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 399
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 401
• Percent change: -0.5
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Woodbridge High
District:Irvine Unified
Municipality: Irvine

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 391
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 401
• Percent change: -2.49
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Sunny Hills High
District:Fullerton Joint Union High
Municipality: Fullerton

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 388
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 389
• Percent change: -0.26
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Foothill High
District:Tustin Unified
Municipality: Santa Ana

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 385
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 399
• Percent change: -3.51
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Santa Ana High
District:Santa Ana Unified
Municipality: Santa Ana

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 379
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 399
• Percent change: -5.01
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Tesoro High
District:Capistrano Unified
Municipality: Las Flores

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 374
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 462
• Percent change: -19.05
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Anaheim High
District:Anaheim Union High
Municipality: Anaheim

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 366
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 421
• Percent change: -13.06
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Edison High
District:Huntington Beach Union High
Municipality: Huntington Beach

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 363
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 363
• Percent change: 0
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Dana Hills High
District:Capistrano Unified
Municipality: Dana Point

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 359
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 381
• Percent change: -5.77
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Westminster High
District:Huntington Beach Union High
Municipality: Westminster

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 358
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 478
• Percent change: -25.1
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: University High
District:Irvine Unified
Municipality: Irvine

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 356
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 370
• Percent change: -3.78
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

The FAFSA application for the 2020-21 academic year closes June 30 at 11:59 p.m. CT, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Many states and colleges set their own deadlines for aid applications. There has been a push in recent years to have students fill out the FAFSA earlier in their senior year.

Editor’s note: This list was automatically generated using FAFSA data analyzed by the Associated Press. Federal high school counts don't include students over the age of 19. 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 content@patch.com.