III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 449 

Designating November 2021 as ‘‘National College Application Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2021 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Ms. ERNST, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) submitted 

the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating November 2021 as ‘‘National College 

Application Month’’. 

Whereas equality of opportunity for all people is one of the 

noblest aspirations of the United States; 

Whereas the United States has created shared economic 

growth and strengthened civic engagement through making higher education widely available; 

Whereas higher education enhances the economic mobility of 

individual students and their families, which is evidenced 

by— 

(1) a finding by the Brookings Institute that the 

median lifetime earnings of holders of an associate degree 

are uniformly greater than the median lifetime earnings 

of holders of solely a high school diploma; 


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(2) a finding by the Pew Economic Mobility Project 

that, for an individual born in the lowest income quintile, 

obtaining a 4-year degree or a higher degree is associated 

with— 

(A) an approximately 70 percent difference in 

the probability of that individual earning an income 

outside the lowest income quintile; and 

(B) a threefold difference in the probability of 

that individual going on to earn an income in the 

highest income quintile; 

(3) the unemployment rate of high school graduates 

in 2020 who did not immediately matriculate to an institution of higher education the following fall semester was 

19.5 percent, which has increased during the COVID–19 

pandemic and was almost 3 times higher than the overall 

unemployment rate of the United States; and 

(4) the unemployment rate of adults whose highest 

credential is a high school diploma is almost double that 

of those with a bachelor’s degree; 

Whereas the National Student Clearinghouse reports that undergraduate enrollment in higher education has declined 

precipitously since the beginning of the COVID–19 pandemic, particularly for students in poverty and students 

of color, as evidenced by— 

(1) 6.8 percent less high school graduates immediately matriculated to an institution of higher education 

the following fall semester in 2020, which represents a 

decline 4.5 times greater than the decline from the prior 

year; 

(2) the decline described in paragraph (1) was most 

notable among graduates at high poverty high schools, 

who faced an 11.4 percent decline from 2019 in immeVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Nov 16, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR449.ATS SR449

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diate matriculation to an institution of higher education; 

and 

(3) the decline described in paragraph (1) also disproportionately affected high school graduates at high 

minority population schools where college enrollment declined by 9.4 percent from 2019, which represents a decline 10 times greater than the decline from the prior 

year; 

Whereas the complexity of financial aid systems and rising 

college costs can serve as additional deterrents or barriers 

for students and families as they assess the viability of 

higher education programs as a postsecondary option; 

Whereas many students and their families struggle to identify 

and compare postsecondary options due to— 

(1) difficulties accessing school counseling services in 

high school, which is evidenced by an estimation of the 

American School Counselor Association that the studentto-counselor ratio in the United States is 424 to 1; 

(2) an absence of reliable programmatic and institutional outcome data; and 

(3) a lack of comparable and understandable college 

financial aid offers; 

Whereas, in addition to expanding outreach and support to 

recent high school graduates, colleges and universities 

must also expand outreach and support to adults without 

a postsecondary degree or credential; 

Whereas the most recent data available from the National 

Postsecondary Student Aid Study commissioned by the 

National Center for Education Statistics found that, of 

undergraduate students in the United States— 

(1) approximately 27 percent are older than 25 

years of age; 


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(2) 38 percent are enrolled part-time; 

(3) 24 percent are parents; and 

(4) 86 percent live off-campus; 

Whereas the National Center for Education Statistics highlights that completion of the Free Application for Federal 

Student Aid is one of the best predictors of immediate 

college enrollment, as high school seniors who complete 

the application are 84 percent more likely to begin postsecondary education in the fall following high school 

graduation; 

Whereas applications for State-based financial aid are available in many States for students who do not qualify for 

Federal student aid; and 

Whereas the ongoing impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on 

communities, families, and educational systems across the 

United States underscores and reinforces the value of ensuring that all individuals, including students enrolled in 

high school and working adults— 

(1) understand their postsecondary options; 

(2) understand college financing opportunities; and 

(3) have support to navigate the college application 

and financial aid processes: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates November 2021 as ‘‘National 

3 College Application Month’’; 

4 (2) encourages the people of the United States 

5 to— 

6 (A) evaluate options for pursuing higher 

7 education; 


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1 (B) submit a Free Application for Federal 

2 Student Aid or an appropriate application for 

3 State-based financial aid in order to receive col4 lege financing opportunities; and 

5 (C) support every student, regardless of 

6 the background, age, or resources of the stu7 dent, in obtaining the skills and knowledge 

8 needed to thrive; 

9 (3) supports efforts to better assist and in10 crease opportunities for low-income, first-generation 

11 college students, and students of color, throughout 

12 the financial aid process, college application process, 

13 and beyond; 

14 (4) urges public officials, educators, families, 

15 students, and communities in the United States to 

16 observe National College Application Month with ap17 propriate activities and programs designed to en18 courage students and families to consider, research, 

19 and apply to college and for financial aid; and 

20 (5) commends teachers, school counselors, men21 tors, and families who support students throughout 

22 the college application process, as well as the organi23 zations and institutions partnering to eliminate bar24 riers to higher education. 

Æ 


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