FAFSA Completion by High School and Public School District 
As the cost of college continues to increase , financial aid becomes ever more important. While many factors are involved in the decision to attend college , a strong correlation exists between FAFSA completion and college enrollment. Previously , high schools relied on self - reported surveys to estimate their FAFSA completion rate , and that data can be inaccurate. For this reason , Federal Student Aid is providing high schools with current data about their FAFSA submissions and completions so that high schools can track their progress and help to ensure that their students complete a FAFSA. A completed FAFSA allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine a potential student's eligibility for federal student aid a key factor in families' college decisions. The data included in the attached charts reflect the number of submitted and completed FAFSAs among first - time filing applicants no older than 19 at the cutoff date who will have received their high school diploma by the start of the school year to which they are applying for aid. For each high school , the number of submitted and completed applications is reported for the current application cycle 2020 - 2021 and the same time period last year for the previous application cycle 2019 - 2020. The data is displayed in spreadsheets broken down by state or territory that include the school name and city of the high school. Additional tabs within each spreadsheet now include estimates of public school district FAFSA completion rates for both cycles as well as state level maps presenting this data. Importantly , the district level data only includes applicants reporting public high schools and does not consider private schools that are geographically within a district. Below , you can select a state or territory from the drop - down menu to view its data, get more information about the data assumptions, or find answers to the most frequently asked q

user: Hello there. I could use some help with my FAFSA completion.

assistant: Of course. Are you aware that the cost of college continues to increase?

user: Yes, I am. Unfortunately.

assistant: Then you should also know that financial aid becomes ever more important.

user: You can say so, yes. How do you handle files when it comes to age?

assistant: Files ending in 18 year olds use the previous age assumption that applicants be no older than 18. All other files use the current assumption that applicants be no older than 19.

user: That's interesting. I've read that schools used to run surveys to figure out the rate of FAFSA completion, but they don't do that anymore. How is it done nowadays?

assistant: In this time and age Federal Student Aid is providing high schools with current data about their FAFSA submissions and completions so that high schools can track their progress and help to ensure that their students complete a FAFSA.

user: Ah, that makes sense. And at what point of the year is this data released?

assistant: Data releases occur every other Friday.

user: That frequent? That's good to hear, this should make the data more accurate. How is the number of applications for each school reported then?

assistant: The number of submitted and completed applications is reported for the current application cycle 2020-2021 and the same time period last year for the previous application cycle 2019-2020.