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By Feven Gerezgiher, Minnesota Public Radio News

Despite progress in recent months, FAFSA completion rates among high school seniors in Minnesota are still lower than in previous years.

The FAFSA, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is how students qualify for federal and state grants, as well as many school scholarships and other types of financial support to cover the cost of attending an institution of higher education.

For the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, the U.S. Department of Education implemented changes intended to make the FAFSA process simpler, but the application’s release was delayed and the form plagued with technical glitches.

Data shows 2,478 fewer high school seniors in Minnesota have completed the FAFSA this cycle compared to last, as of tracking updated through July 5, reflecting a 6.8 percent decrease.

“The technology in the new form was not ready, so students ran into a lot of issues and technical challenges … that delayed the process really significantly, of students just simply not being able to complete it,” said Isaiah Allen, spokesperson for College Possible Minnesota, a nonprofit offering college readiness programs for low-income students.

Minnesota fares better than most of the country — it’s in the top three states where FAFSA completion has dropped the least. Allen points out that completion rates have also improved in Minnesota in the last two months, which is not the case in many states.

Still, there is concern that the challenges of accessing financial aid will prevent students from attending college in fall. The National College Attainment Network reports FAFSA completion was correlated with an 84 percent increase in college enrollment in one study.

Amanda Justen is program strategy manager for Achieve Twin Cities. She said some students who couldn’t complete the FAFSA in time for their high-school graduation ended up not committing to a college.

“And then, once they graduate and go off, I think some students in that situation just decided to maybe take a year off and work or weren’t able to make a decision on their college,” she said.

Justen said many of the technical issues with the FAFSA have been resolved, so it’s a matter of getting people help now.

In May, state officials announced grants to both College Possible and Achieve Twin Cities to help Minnesotans get one-on-one help with the FAFSA. The nonprofits are offering individualized support through appointments and at events this summer.

Justen reminds students they can still receive aid. The FAFSA deadline for the 2024-2025 academic year isn’t until the end of it: June 30, 2025.

“Our main message right now is definitely if students applied and were accepted to college, and that’s still their goal, there’s still time to do the FAFSA,” said Justen.

How to get help with FAFSA

College Possible is offering free individualized support for all Minnesotans to complete the FAFSA or the MN Dream Act, which is the FAFSA equivalent for undocumented students, virtually through their website.

It also has three upcoming events at the Mall of America at the Capital One Café from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on several upcoming Thursdays: July 18, Aug. 8 and Aug. 22.

Allen said people seeking help should bring their social security numbers, tax ID and FAFSA IDs, if they have them. He said applications have taken between 15 minutes to 2.5 hours, usually with students who have families of mixed immigration status.

St. Paul and Minneapolis Public Schools students can get in-person help by scheduling an appointment with Achieve Twin Cities or visiting a drop-in event at a local library.

Both organizations will also provide FAFSA help at the Minnesota State Fair, helping to staff the Office of Higher Education’s booth in the Education building.