MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The number of high school seniors or their parents filling out the federal form for access to college financial aid, the FAFSA, is way up this fall. That's despite indications that many Americans are souring on the importance of higher education. NPR's Elissa Nadworny reports.
ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: Seeing so many students fill out the financial aid form matters because it's often a critical step in the college process and it's correlated with more students enrolling in college next year. Sean Sobush is a high school senior in Florida. He'd heard from a friend's older sister that filling out the form called the FAFSA took her several hours.
SEAN SOBUSH: I did go into it expecting it to take the whole afternoon.
NADWORNY: But this fall, when he opened up his laptop at his local Starbucks and navigated to the online form, it only took about 15 minutes to complete.
SOBUSH: So it was really simple. And, I mean, it definitely was a welcoming surprise.
NADWORNY: Sobush is among the more than 1 million high school seniors who have already filled out the FAFSA, up about 6% compared to 2023.
BILL DEBAUN: It's good to have good news about the FAFSA.
NADWORNY: Bill DeBaun is with the National College Attainment Network, an organization that helps track FAFSA completion.
DEBAUN: Nationally, we're aiming for all-time highs in FAFSA completion this year.
NADWORNY: There are two main reasons the numbers are so high this year. The form is much simpler, thanks to recent federal legislation. And in addition to being fast and easy, the form was also made available way earlier this year, on September 24. In the two years prior, the form didn't open up until sometime in December.
DEBAUN: We have had a strong start. We should continue that momentum, right?
NADWORNY: DeBaun says schools shouldn't get too cocky. To reach an all-time high FAFSA completion, at least 1 million more students still need to fill out the form by summer - at a time when confidence in higher ed generally is really low. This distinction rings true for Sobush in Florida.
SOBUSH: I feel like a lot of students are worried that it will not be worth it in the future.
NADWORNY: But yet, it sounds like everybody is still applying?
SOBUSH: Yeah.
NADWORNY: Is that right?
SOBUSH: It is kind of contradictory. But I think if they can attend for a lower cost, that it is worth the risk.
NADWORNY: And in order to do that, they first have to fill out the FAFSA.
Elissa Nadworny, NPR News, Washington.
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