Too Many Students Missing Opportunities for Financial Aid, Says Study

by Jim Brown
October 22, 2004

Like This Page? Tweet

(AgapePress) - A new study says hundreds of thousands of college students who may be eligible for federal financial aid don't get it for a simple reason: they don't apply for it.

The study comes from the American Council on Education (ACE), which represents colleges and universities. It says half of undergraduates enrolled in 1999-2000 at institutions participating in federal student aid programs did not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov). And 850,000 of those students, according to the study, would have been eligible for a Pell Grant.

Jackie King, director of the ACE's Center for Policy Analysis, says while she has no hard data on why students choice not to pursue financial aid, she does have some hypotheses.

Jackie King

"Despite all of our efforts in colleges and in high schools, there are still students out there who aren't aware that this money is available. So we've got some more work to do there," King says. "We also think that there are quite a few students who are simply misinformed about who's eligible and assume that whatever money may be out there, it's not for [them]; it's for somebody else."

King says a final group of students is put off by having to fill out a fairly complicated government form. She recommends students and families overcome those self-imposed obstacles and fill out the FAFSA in order to find out the aid for which they are eligible.

"It is possible that you won't qualify for grant assistance. You may only qualify for student loans," she explains. "But these days the interest rates on student loans are at historic lows. Three and a half percent is the interest rate right now on federal student loans. So, while a loan may not be your first choice, it's not a bad choice for many students."

She encourages parents to contact the financial aid office at their children's school to get a sense of what is available. "Vital assistance is available and no student should pass on the opportunity to receive that aid because he or she is misinformed, lacks the necessary information, or is unable to navigate through the financial aid process," King says.

According to the study, two-thirds of community college students did not complete a FAFSA in 1999-2000. By comparison, only 13 percent students at private for-profit institutions failed to do so.