Thank you for subscribing!
In May 2024, scholarship owl We conducted a study to better understand the ongoing impact of delays and technical issues related to new product rollouts. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) About Generation Z students. We began researching the impact of the new FAFSA on students in February 2024 and published our findings in the following articles. April and May. Our latest research focused on whether students were still filing the FAFSA. Additionally, if students had already filed a FAFSA, we wanted to know about their financial aid offers and how well those offers met their expectations.
Who participated in the survey?
In May 2024, ScholarshipOwl surveyed high school and college students on the ScholarshipOwl scholarship platform to learn more about the impact of the new FAFSA. A total of 8,719 students responded.
Of the respondents, 63% were female, 36% were male, and 1% identified themselves as other. Nearly half (43%) identified as white, 27% as black, 17% as Hispanic/Latino, 6% as Asian/Pacific Islander, and 5% as other.
Almost half of the respondents (49%) were high school students, and the majority were high school seniors. More than a third (40%) were undergraduate students, primarily first- and second-year college students. 8% were graduate students and 3% identified themselves as adult/nontraditional students.
survey questions
Question 1
We began our survey by asking students, “Have you filed your 2024-25 FAFSA?”
- 79% say they have already filed a FAFSA
- 13% say they have not yet filed a FAFSA but plan to do so in the future
- 4% have not filed the FAFSA and say they have no intention of filing even though they plan to attend college in 2024-2025.
- 4% say they won’t file the FAFSA in 2024-2025 because they won’t be able to attend college
Question 2
The next question was, “Have you received a full financial aid offer from the university you plan to attend in 2024-2025?”
- 46% said yes
- 50% said no
- 5% say they will not attend college in 2024-2025
follow up questions
Additional questions were asked of the 3,994 respondents who said they had received an offer of financial aid from the university they planned to attend.
we asked. “If you received a full financial aid offer from the university you plan to attend in 2024-2025, which of the following did you receive? Please select all that apply.”
- 48% received federal funding
- 25% were offered state grants or scholarships
- 45% received a grant or scholarship offer from their university
- 7% received an external scholarship offer from a company or nonprofit organization
- 18% received a federal work-study offer.
- 56% were offered federal student loans
- 13% were offered a Parent PLUS loan
We then asked, “After reflecting on the financial aid offers you received from the universities you plan to attend in 2024-2025, which of the following describes how you feel about those offers?”
- 11% said they received more money than expected through grants or scholarships
- 64% said they received less money than expected through grants and scholarships
- 22% said they received no grants or scholarships at all, only loans.
- 3% say they have not yet received a financial aid offer from the university they plan to attend in 2024-2025
Important points
As we reported after our last review of the new FAFSA, much of the media focused on the challenges associated with the rollout, but these challenges were thought to be worth it in the end. of U.S. Department of Education’s FAFSA website The new FAFSA will allow an additional 610,000 students to meet federal Pell Grant eligibility requirements, and an additional 1.5 million students will receive the maximum Pell Grant, it said. Overall, the number of students filing the FAFSA is down compared to previous years. But the numbers are starting to grow. As of April 26, 2024, the National College Attainment Network FAFSA tracker reported a 24% decrease in students filing the FAFSA compared to the same date last year, but as of June 14, 2024, that number is only down 12%. The federal FAFSA deadline is June 30, 2024, so filings will continue through the end of June, but it’s unlikely that enough filings will arrive to account for that 12%.
Our findings are consistent with the submission rates shown by FAFSA Tracker, but the majority of respondents are disappointed with the financial aid offers they received from the colleges they plan to attend in 2024-2025. It also shows that. % said they received less money from grants or scholarships than expected, and 22% said they received no grants or scholarships at all, only loans.
What steps can you take to ensure your students get into college?
There are several steps students can take to ensure their admission to college.
- If you plan to attend college in 2024-2025, it is mandatory to file the FAFSA by the federal FAFSA deadline of June 30, 2024. If you haven’t already done so, please submit it now to: www.fafsa.gov.
- If you are still waiting for one or more scholarship offers from the universities you have applied to, please contact each university’s scholarship office to inquire about the status of your scholarship offer. Ask if there is any information or documentation you can provide that will make it easier for you to receive an offer of financial aid.
- If you are disappointed in the financial aid offer you received and believe you can document why you should receive a better offer, contact your university’s financial aid office for information on how to appeal your financial aid award. Please explain. Follow the steps outlined to submit your dispute immediately. Please note that for your appeal to have any chance of success, you must be able to explain and document why you feel the financial aid offer is wrong. For example, if your parent/guardian recently lost their job or your family has significant medical expenses, you will need to provide documentation to support your claim.
- Prioritize scholarship applications scholarship owl.
- Apply for scholarships at the university you are applying to or currently attending. If you have already applied for these scholarships, please contact the Financial Aid Office to inquire about the status of your application.
- Work part-time during the school year and full-time during breaks. Save the money you earn to go to university.
- Once you receive scholarship offers, compare them and focus on choosing the most affordable university. If your first choice school offers less financial aid or scholarships than others, contact your school of choice to negotiate an offer to a more affordable school.
- Always consider starting with a community college that offers truly affordable options. Don’t forget that community colleges also offer federal and state grant aid and scholarships. So, even if you plan to attend community college, be sure to submit the FAFSA and apply for scholarships.
Remember: Student loans should be your last resort to pay for college. Focus on debt-free funding sources so you can graduate without the burden of paying thousands of dollars for college. Focus on applying for scholarships and jobs instead of loans so you can graduate debt-free. There is an affordable path to college – for more information and to start applying for a scholarship, visit: www.scholarshipowl.com.
