FAFSA Completion Rates Rebound After 2024 Setbacks
Credit: Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service / Getty Images- After last year’s dropoff, FAFSA completions appear to be back on track.
- Strong completion rates indicate that many of the challenges previously facing the form have subsided.
- Completion rates are up year over year in all 50 states.
- These strong indicators come despite the fact that the 2025-26 FAFSA didn’t launch until late November.
The percentage of high school seniors who filed the FAFSA is back to historical norms, following the “nightmare” 2024-25 FAFSA launch.
Approximately 55.8% of high school seniors filed their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form by July 23, according to the National College Attainment Network (NCAN). Overall completions are 15.7% higher than at the same point the year prior.
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This puts 2025-26 FAFSA completions on par with most other filing cycles, just a few weeks before the start of the next academic year.
Last year’s FAFSA woes raised the stakes for this cycle, Bill DeBaun, senior director of data and strategic initiatives at NCAN, told BestColleges. 2024-25 FAFSA completions were down over 10% through mid-July last year, declines attributed to the launch of the first-ever “Simplified FAFSA.”
“Through a very difficult period, the news is very good,” DeBaun said. “This is a strong bounce back.”
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Experts and institutions monitor FAFSA completions because they often correlate to future enrollment. Students only qualify for federal financial aid — including federal student loans and Pell Grants — if they file the FAFSA, making it a key component of college affordability.
FAFSA completion rates are up year over year in all 50 states, NCAN found.
Additionally, FAFSA completion rebounds are most pronounced in low-income and high-minority high schools.
| Percentage of high school seniors who completed the 2025-26 FAFSA | Year-to-year change in completion rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Higher-income high school | 57.5% | 12.5% |
| Low-income high school | 52% | 18.3% |
| Low-minority high school | 52.3% | 12.6% |
| High-minority high school | 53.8% | 18.5% |
Some states reported vast improvements in FAFSA completions.
Oklahoma saw the biggest year-over-year increase, with a 41.5% change from the previous cycle. DeBaun said this can be attributed to the state adopting a universal FAFSA policy, which requires high school seniors to file a FAFSA or request an exemption to graduate.
Seven of the top 10 states in completion rates have a universal FAFSA policy.
Louisiana, meanwhile, is at the other side of the spectrum, posting just a 1.7% increase from the previous cycle. DeBaun noted that Louisiana recently rescinded its universal FAFSA policy, which likely explains the minuscule year-over-year growth.
Through mid-July 2023, over 68% of high school seniors completed the FAFSA in Louisiana. This year, the rate is just 55.4%, DeBaun said.
He also noted that these year-over-year gains came even with a truncated FAFSA cycle.
While the form typically launches on Oct. 1 each year, the 2025-26 form didn’t launch nationally until Nov. 21. DeBaun hopes this means FAFSA completions could be even better for the 2026-27 FAFSA if the Department of Education (ED) manages to launch the form by the now mandated Oct. 1 deadline.
“If we get back to an Oct. 1 opening,” he said, “that gives schools, practitioners, and advocates a much wider window to work with students.”