More Nebraska students have applied for federal aid to attend college in the upcoming academic year following a rule change which extended the submission period.
Under the old process, families could begin the Free Application for Financial Student Aid -- better known as FAFSA -- in January using their prior year’s tax return.
In 2015, the Obama administration changed the process for the 2017-18 school year, opening the application process in October and allowing families to use their most recently completed tax return to apply for federal aid, known as “prior-prior year†tax information.
The change resulted in a 6 percent increase nationally in FAFSA filings as of June 30, according to the U.S. Department of Education, reversing a four-year decline in the number of completed applications.
An increasing number of Nebraska families are among the 14 million U.S. students taking advantage of the rule change, according to data from the Education Department.
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In a report published by the National College Access Network examining the number of FAFSA filings submitted for the 2017-18 school year, 15,033 Nebraska students had submitted an application as of June 30, marking an 11 percent increase over the previous year.
More than 14,000 of those applications have been completed as of June 30, the Education Department said, a 12 percent jump from the previous year’s figure.
Les Monroe, director of college planning at EducationQuest, said extending the application period allows families to be better consumers of higher education by receiving more information about the cost of attending college.
EducationQuest, a nonprofit with a mission to improve access to higher education in Nebraska, began meeting with students last fall to discuss applying for college and filling out the FAFSA with tax information “sitting on the dresser,†Monroe said, rather than waiting until January to make its annual tour of Southeast Nebraska high schools.
Under the old timeline, many families wouldn’t start filling out the FAFSA until March or April after sending their tax return to the IRS, potentially leaving students with only a month or two to finish the application and wait for a financial aid letter from a prospective college.
The new rules give students an additional 5 or 6 months to apply for federal aid and “shop around†for the right financial aid package by sending their FAFSA information to more institutions.
“With more time to make a decision, I wouldn’t be surprised if students are putting more colleges down so they can do more research and make more informed decisions and good, solid college choices,†Monroe said.
On average, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln processes some 19,000 FAFSA forms each year, according to Justin Chase Brown, the director of scholarships and financial aid, including 6,000 from first-year students.
Not all of those students who send their financial information to UNL will choose to attend school in Lincoln, Brown cautioned, but the university has surpassed the number of FAFSA filings it normally processes.
“At this point, we have exceeded that average amount, but it could be that our applicants this year are frontloaded within the application year and are simply applying earlier, which is what we wanted,†he said in an email.
State colleges are also reporting receiving more federal financial aid applications.
* Wayne State College has processed nearly 2,986 FAFSAs this year compared to 2,336 last year.
* Chadron State College reports 1,426 federal financial aid applications this year compared to 1,159 last year.
* Federal financial aid applications to Peru State Colleges are up from 1,076 for 2016-17 to 1,382 this year.
Nebraska Wesleyan University, a private liberal arts institution, has processed 9 percent more FAFSA forms this year over last, including a 19 percent jump in applications completed by first-year students.
Tom Oschner, NWU director of scholarships and financial aid, attributed the increase to the change in the application process and requirements.
“It’s giving students a lot more time to weigh their options and figure out what’s best for them academically, socially and financially over a less compressed timeframe,†Oschner said.