FAFSA Completions Down In CA: How Orange County Area Schools Compare

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — 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 California, there were 222,257 FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021, compared with 246,827 completions at the same point last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of FAFSA data. That is a 10.0 percent drop. (See how Orange County 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 California, there was a 14.9 percent drop among completed applications from Title 1 schools compared with a 5.0 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 Orange County area are doing with FAFSA completion as of March 26. 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.

School: ORANGE COUNTY WORKFORCE INNOVATION HIGH
District: ORANGE COUNTY WORKFORCE INNOVATION HIGH DISTRICT
Municipality: ANAHEIM

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 9
• Percent change: -44.44
• Title 1 status: N/A

School: EARLY COLLEGE HIGH
District: NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED
Municipality: COSTA MESA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 24
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 40
• Percent change: -40
• Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide

School: EDNOVATE - LEGACY COLLEGE PREP.
District:EDNOVATE - LEGACY COLLEGE PREP. DISTRICT
Municipality: SANTA ANA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 49
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 81
• Percent change: -39.51
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: MARIE L. HARE HIGH
District:GARDEN GROVE UNIFIED
Municipality: GARDEN GROVE

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 8
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 13
• Percent change: -38.46
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: HILLVIEW HIGH (CONTINUATION)
District:TUSTIN UNIFIED
Municipality: TUSTIN

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 24
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 39
• Percent change: -38.46
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: LA SIERRA HIGH (ALTERNATIVE)
District:FULLERTON JOINT UNION HIGH
Municipality: FULLERTON

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 8
• Percent change: -37.5
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: PARKVIEW
District:PLACENTIA-YORBA LINDA UNIFIED
Municipality: PLACENTIA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 7
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 11
• Percent change: -36.36
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: CESAR E. CHAVEZ HIGH
District:SANTA ANA UNIFIED
Municipality: SANTA ANA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 21
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 33
• Percent change: -36.36
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: SAVANNA HIGH
District:ANAHEIM UNION HIGH
Municipality: ANAHEIM

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 218
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 311
• Percent change: -29.9
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: GILBERT HIGH (CONTINUATION)
District:ANAHEIM UNION HIGH
Municipality: ANAHEIM

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 32
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 44
• Percent change: -27.27
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: SANTIAGO HIGH
District:GARDEN GROVE UNIFIED
Municipality: GARDEN GROVE

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 215
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 295
• Percent change: -27.12
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: ORANGE HIGH
District:ORANGE UNIFIED
Municipality: ORANGE

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 138
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 187
• Percent change: -26.2
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: FULLERTON UNION HIGH
District:FULLERTON JOINT UNION HIGH
Municipality: FULLERTON

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 225
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 303
• Percent change: -25.74
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: SADDLEBACK HIGH
District:SANTA ANA UNIFIED
Municipality: SANTA ANA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 164
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 216
• Percent change: -24.07
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: WESTMINSTER HIGH
District:HUNTINGTON BEACH UNION HIGH
Municipality: WESTMINSTER

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 331
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 434
• Percent change: -23.73
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: COSTA MESA HIGH
District:NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED
Municipality: COSTA MESA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 115
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 150
• Percent change: -23.33
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: TESORO HIGH
District:CAPISTRANO UNIFIED
Municipality: LAS FLORES

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 335
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 431
• Percent change: -22.27
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: YORBA LINDA HIGH
District:PLACENTIA-YORBA LINDA UNIFIED
Municipality: YORBA LINDA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 190
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 244
• Percent change: -22.13
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: NOVA ACADEMY
District:NOVA ACADEMY DISTRICT
Municipality: SANTA ANA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 50
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 64
• Percent change: -21.88
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: SEGERSTROM HIGH
District:SANTA ANA UNIFIED
Municipality: SANTA ANA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 418
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 510
• Percent change: -18.04
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: LAGUNA BEACH HIGH
District:LAGUNA BEACH UNIFIED
Municipality: LAGUNA BEACH

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 130
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 157
• Percent change: -17.2
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: VILLA PARK HIGH
District:ORANGE UNIFIED
Municipality: VILLA PARK

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 200
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 235
• Percent change: -14.89
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: ANAHEIM HIGH
District:ANAHEIM UNION HIGH
Municipality: ANAHEIM

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 340
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 399
• Percent change: -14.79
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: KATELLA HIGH
District:ANAHEIM UNION HIGH
Municipality: ANAHEIM

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 387
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 452
• Percent change: -14.38
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: VALLEY HIGH
District:SANTA ANA UNIFIED
Municipality: SANTA ANA

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 241
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 279
• Percent change: -13.62
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

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 content@patch.com.