Fewer Houston-area students completed a crucial step toward affording college in 2023-24, a year marked by the glitch-riddled revamp of an important financial aid system used across the country.

Federal data show the number of local high school seniors filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, declined by roughly 7,000 last year. Aspiring and current college students must fill out the FAFSA to be eligible for federal grants and loans that are used to pay for tuition. Colleges often use the information shared in students’ forms to determine how much financial aid to award a student.

The U.S. Department of Education overhauled the online application last year, aiming to make it a smoother process. But the new form was released three months later than usual and filled with technical and bureaucratic issues that made it difficult for some students to complete. A recent investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found Education Department officials didn’t properly test the form and ignored signs that it wasn’t ready to be rolled out.

The local data: In some Houston-area districts, including Spring, Spring Branch and Montgomery ISDs, completion rates fell by more than 20 percent, more than double the statewide drop of 8 percent. In a handful of districts, the declines meant roughly half of seniors didn’t complete their form.

The data below shows the percentage of Class of 2024 high school seniors that completed a FAFSA application compared to the prior year. You can search for your district in the table to see how its completion rate changed.

For some context: Texas lawmakers passed legislation in 2022 that requires students to fill out the FAFSA to graduate. The law boosted completion rates after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decline. Even after this year’s botched rollout, Texas’ completion rate is still higher than it was before the legislation was passed.

The stakes: For many Houston students, the FAFSA is a necessary step in affording college. Eighty-five percent of new college students in the U.S. received some form of financial aid in the 2019-20 school year, the most recent year with available data, according to the Education Data Initiative. 

Colleges typically ask students to commit to attending their school by May. In a normal year, that deadline gives students plenty of time to fill out the FAFSA, receive financial aid information, assess how much a college will cost them and, finally, make a decision. But in 2023-24, the FAFSA issues resulted in some colleges giving award letters or financial packages much later than usual. In some cases, the decisions arrived after the deadline for students to commit to a school, impacting students' college choices because of affordability concerns. 

Looking forward: The Education Department is testing a new FAFSA form before it’s set to be rolled out in December. Department officials say they’ve “taken bold steps to overhaul internal processes and systems that led to challenges and delays” and hired hundreds more customer service representatives to assist families. 

How to get help: If you have questions about FAFSA or have issues completing the form, contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center. Reach them by phone, email or live chat here. 

Miranda covers Houston’s community colleges for the Houston Landing. Despite roughly half of Houston’s higher-education students attending community colleges, there hasn’t been much news covering these systems or students — until now. Her reporting holds institutions accountable, highlights barriers faced by students and helps them navigate their opportunities. If you have ideas or questions, reach Miranda at miranda@houstonlanding.org.

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