Dive Brief:
- The high school class of 2026 has completed a collective 1.6 million federal student aid applications for higher education for the 2026-27 school year as of Jan. 23, or about 52% more than the class of 2025 by the same date, according to a tracker from the National College Attainment Network.
- The U.S. Department of Education, which oversees the FAFSA process, reports that it has processed a total of 7.6 million applications — including for the high school class of 2026 and all other filers — for federal student aid for the next school year as of Jan. 30.
- The Education Department, in a Dec. 18 statement, touted several factors for the increased activity, including an early launch date for the FAFSA form, a streamlined user experience, and expanded support for students and families.
Dive Insight:
In the December statement, the Education Department celebrated the 5 millionth FAFSA submission for all filers — not just the high school class of 2026 — on Dec. 17, calling it a "historic milestone."
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in the December statement that completing the FAFSA form is a "critical first step" for postsecondary education journeys. "And just two short years ago, not a single American student had completed the FAFSA form by December 17th. Contrast that with today, where 5 million aspiring college students have not only started, but successfully completed and submitted their FAFSA forms,” McMahon said.
The FAFSA milestone announced under the Trump administration comes about two years after the Education Department, under the Biden administration, released the FAFSA application form months after Oct. 1, the typical release date. The Education Department had technical struggles as it attempted to roll out a new, shorter and easier-to-use version at the direction of Congress.
Amid those difficulties, the high school class of 2024 completed 2.3 million FAFSA forms by Dec. 27, 2024, a decrease of nearly 10% compared to the previous school year, according to NCAN's tracker.
Despite the high school class of 2024's struggles with that year's FAFSA form, a September 2025 report from NCAN found that immediate higher education fall enrollment remained stable across nearly all high school characteristics for the high school, such as poverty, income and minority levels and urbanicity, for the high school graduating classes of 2023 and 2024.
Earlier completion and processing dates for the FAFSA assist colleges in determining financial aid packages for applicants, as well as give applicants a better understanding of their financial aid eligibility when making decisions about where they want to enroll. The FAFSA can help determine eligibility for Pell grants, federal work-study and federal loans.
The cost of attending college is a top factor in people's decision to pursue a postsecondary degree, according to a May 2025 article in The Journal of the National Association of State Boards of Education. The average cost of college in the United States is $38,270 per student per year, including books, supplies and daily living expenses, according to the Education Data Initiative. In-state tuition only averages to $9,750 and out-of-state tuition is about $28,386.
Several states have made filling out the FAFSA a requirement for high school seniors. In those states — like Texas, Alabama and Illinois — there have been increases in the rates of FAFSA completions, according to NCAN.
As of Jan. 23, Illinois's class of 2026 had a 52% FAFSA completion rate — the highest in the country, according to NCAN. The other states with top completion rates include Texas with 49% and New Jersey with 48%.
