FAFSA Completions Down In MI: How Grand Rapids Area Schools Compare

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — 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 Michigan, there were 43,569 FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021, compared with 50,434 completions at the same point last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of FAFSA data. That is a 13.6 percent drop. (See how Grand Rapids 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 Michigan, there was a 23.0 percent drop among completed applications from Title 1 schools compared with an 11.7 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 Grand Rapids area are doing with FAFSA completion as of March 26. See more Grand Rapids area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools.

School: INNOVATION CENTRAL HIGH
District: GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 48
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 96
• Percent change: -50
• Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide

School: NORTHVIEW HIGH SCHOOL
District: NORTHVIEW PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 113
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 173
• Percent change: -34.68
• Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide

School: GRAND RAPIDS MONTESSORI ACADEMY
District:GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 7
• Percent change: -28.57
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: UNION HIGH SCHOOL
District:GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 84
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 113
• Percent change: -25.66
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: GODWIN HEIGHTS SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
District:GODWIN HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 60
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 78
• Percent change: -23.08
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: OTTAWA HILLS HIGH SCHOOL
District:GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 31
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 38
• Percent change: -18.42
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: EAST KENTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
District:KENTWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 278
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 327
• Percent change: -14.98
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: GRAND RAPIDS UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY
District:GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 28
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 32
• Percent change: -12.5
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: CITY MIDDLEHIGH
District:GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 91
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 104
• Percent change: -12.5
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
District:FOREST HILLS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 160
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 166
• Percent change: -3.61
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: EAST GRAND RAPIDS HIGH SCHOOL
District:EAST GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 153
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 158
• Percent change: -3.16
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: NORTHERN HIGH SCHOOL
District:FOREST HILLS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 184
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 189
• Percent change: -2.65
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: WEST MI ACADEMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
District:WEST MI ACADEMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 15
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 15
• Percent change: 0
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: WELLSPRING PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL
District:WELLSPRING PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 50
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 39
• Percent change: +28.21
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: CA FROST ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ACADEMY MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL
District:GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 34
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 26
• Percent change: +30.77
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: MICHIGAN VIRTUAL CHARTER ACADEMY
District:MICHIGAN VIRTUAL CHARTER ACADEMY
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 65
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 45
• Percent change: +44.44
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: GRAND RIVER PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL
District:GRAND RIVER PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: 72
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 36
• Percent change: +100
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: SUCCESS GRAND RAPIDS FULLER AVE
District:BERRIEN SPRINGS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: N/A
• Percent change: N/A
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: CROSSROADS ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL
District:KENTWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: N/A
• Percent change: N/A
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: COVENANT HOUSE ACADEMY GRAND RAPIDS
District:COVENANT HOUSE ACADEMY GRAND RAPIDS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: N/A
• Percent change: N/A
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: HOPE ACADEMY OF WEST MICHIGAN
District:HOPE ACADEMY OF WEST MICHIGAN
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 7
• Percent change: N/A
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: GRAND RAPIDS LEARNING CENTER
District:GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 8
• Percent change: N/A
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: NEXTECH HIGH SCHOOL
District:NEXUS ACADEMY OF GRAND RAPIDS
Municipality: GRAND RAPIDS

• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2021: N/A
• Total FAFSA completions as of March 26, 2020: 13
• Percent change: N/A
• 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.