How Better FAFSA Changed Federal Aid Applications

The FAFSA Simplification Act altered the federal aid form to minimize barriers to completion and improve aid delivery. Despite these potential benefits, legal, technical, and logistical hurdles led to delays in implementation, creating uncertainty for families and colleges. We descriptively examine changes in California’s FAFSA submissions, using regression analysis to investigate differences in whether students resubmitted the FAFSA. Overall submissions increased modestly, but freshman applications exhibited large declines, with many failing to meet California’s deadline for its generous state aid program. This suggests many students may be enrolling, but without the support of state or federal financial aid. Although FAFSA refiling rates decreased for enrolled students, we observe higher rates of state aid receipt and public college enrollment.