College Financial Aid Applications In Long Island Area: Compare To NY

LONG ISLAND, NY — 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 New York, 109,046 FAFSA applications were completed as of June 25, compared with 113,678 completions at the same point last year. That is a 4.1 percent decrease. (See how Long Island 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 New York, completed applications dropped 6.9 percent from Title 1 schools, compared with a 1.4 percent drop for non-Title 1 school applications as of June 25.

Here is how schools in the Long Island area are doing with FAFSA completion as of June 25. See more Long Island 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: Ward Melville Senior High School
District: Three Village Central School District
Municipality: East Setauket

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 410
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 363
• Percent change: 12.95
• Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide

School: Massapequa High School
District: Massapequa Union Free School District
Municipality: Massapequa

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 396
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 425
• Percent change: -6.82
• Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide

School: Syosset Senior High School
District:Syosset Central School District
Municipality: Syosset

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 380
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 354
• Percent change: 7.34
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Longwood High School
District:Longwood Central School District
Municipality: Middle Island

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 349
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 322
• Percent change: 8.39
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Sachem High School North
District:Sachem Central School District
Municipality: Lake Ronkonkoma

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 345
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 335
• Percent change: 2.99
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Plainview-Old Bethpage/Jfk High School
District:Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District
Municipality: Plainview

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 337
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 310
• Percent change: 8.71
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: School 7-Oceanside Senior High School
District:Oceanside Union Free School District
Municipality: Oceanside

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 333
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 317
• Percent change: 5.05
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Sachem High School East
District:Sachem Central School District
Municipality: Farmingville

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 326
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 328
• Percent change: -0.61
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Northport Senior High School
District:Northport-East Northport Union Free School District
Municipality: Northport

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 322
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 338
• Percent change: -4.73
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Farmingdale Senior High School
District:Farmingdale Union Free School District
Municipality: Farmingdale

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 301
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 304
• Percent change: -0.99
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Smithtown High School-West
District:Smithtown Central School District
Municipality: Smithtown

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 292
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 294
• Percent change: -0.68
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Half Hollow Hills High School East
District:Half Hollow Hills Central School District
Municipality: Dix Hills

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 289
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 255
• Percent change: 13.33
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Lindenhurst Senior High School
District:Lindenhurst Union Free School District
Municipality: Lindenhurst

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 288
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 272
• Percent change: 5.88
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Baldwin Senior High School
District:Baldwin Union Free School District
Municipality: Baldwin

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 280
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 260
• Percent change: 7.69
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Patchogue-Medford High School
District:Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District
Municipality: Medford

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 278
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 257
• Percent change: 8.17
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Walt Whitman High School
District:South Huntington Union Free School District
Municipality: Huntington Station

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 273
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 282
• Percent change: -3.19
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: William Floyd High School
District:William Floyd Union Free School District
Municipality: Mastic Beach

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 270
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 310
• Percent change: -12.9
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Herricks High School
District:Herricks Union Free School District
Municipality: New Hyde Park

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 268
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 259
• Percent change: 3.47
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Hicksville High School
District:Hicksville Union Free School District
Municipality: Hicksville

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 260
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 262
• Percent change: -0.76
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: East Meadow High School
District:East Meadow Union Free School District
Municipality: East Meadow

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 251
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 273
• Percent change: -8.06
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Sanford H Calhoun High School
District:Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
Municipality: Merrick

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 249
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 212
• Percent change: 17.45
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Uniondale High School
District:Uniondale Union Free School District
Municipality: Uniondale

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 239
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 245
• Percent change: -2.45
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: West Islip Senior High School
District:West Islip Union Free School District
Municipality: West Islip

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 239
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 263
• Percent change: -9.13
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: New Hyde Park Memorial High School
District:Sewanhaka Central High School District
Municipality: New Hyde Park

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 236
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 256
• Percent change: -7.81
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Garden City High School
District:Garden City Union Free School District
Municipality: Garden City

• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2021: 235
• Total FAFSA completions as of June 25, 2020: 213
• Percent change: 10.33
• 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.