To ensure students get all the financial aid to which they’re entitled, states should pursue policies that mandate students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — the form that unlocks federal grants and loans but has been seen as an obstacle to higher education because of its historical complexity.
That’s a key takeaway from a report released recently by EdTrust, an education advocacy nonprofit, that examines how four states — Colorado, Illinois, Indiana and Louisiana — implemented what are known as universal FAFSA policies.
So far, 14 states have adopted universal FAFSA completion policies, with nine currently in effect. These policies either require or strongly encourage students to complete the form.
In Illinois, for example, filling out the FAFSA is a graduation requirement, and Indiana requires high school seniors to fill out the form. Colorado offers a competitive grant program — formally known as Fund My Future — for school districts that require students to complete the FAFSA or a state aid form to graduate. All three states have opt-out policies.
Louisiana, the first state to adopt a FAFSA completion policy in 2018, has since repealed its policy over privacy concerns, such as parents upset over having to fill out a form that included their tax information. New Hampshire has also repealed its FAFSA completion policy.
FAFSA completion is strong this aid cycle, with 5.78 million students filling out the form for the 2026-27 academic year through Dec. 31, according to federal data. Yet financial aid experts say policymakers and educators can still do more to ensure students don’t leave what the report describes as “billions of dollars” in financial aid on the table.
“This is a very important issue because students who complete the FAFSA are more likely to graduate high school, more likely to enroll in college and more likely to graduate from college,” said Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert.
Part of why FAFSA completers are more likely to enroll in and graduate from college is a straightforward matter of being more likely to get financial aid.
“The No. 1 reason people drop out of college is because of money,” Kantrowitz said. “If you get the financial aid, you’re more likely to at the very least be able to afford college if you decide to go.”
Kyla Hurns, a higher ed policy analyst at EdTrust and co-author of the report, said it’s important for policymakers, education and nonprofit leaders to assume collective responsibility for raising FAFSA completion rates.
“It’s less about it being solely on one person, but making sure it’s an entire ecosystem of people supporting the [FAFSA completion] requirement and supporting the policy to make sure that you’re able to essentially meet students at all possible avenues,” Hurns said.
The EdTrust report’s top recommendation is dedicated funding — largely to support financial aid specialists to do the actual work of helping students fill out the FAFSA, but also to conduct outreach and build dashboards that help officials keep track of their FAFSA completion progress.
While educators and state officials interviewed by EdTrust described Illinois’ 2019 law making FAFSA completion a graduation requirement as an “unfunded mandate,” the report notes that the state relies on the Illinois Student Assistance Corps — or ISACorps — a group of college access advisers who work in high schools and community settings to help out with FAFSA completion.
ISACorps is overseen by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which is a state-funded agency. In the fiscal year 2025, Illinois appropriated $7.8 million for ISACorps, the EdTrust report noted.
“To be clear, in Illinois, the actual policy itself is unfunded,” Hurns noted, adding that the state organization “was a funded way for them to send in bodies to help.”
Having dedicated personnel to help with the FAFSA is critical because guidance counselors — who are typically responsible for college advising — are often saddled with high caseloads, the report said. Their other responsibilities, such as crisis intervention and mental health support, make it difficult for them to find time to help students fill out the FAFSA.
One Illinois school counselor said the state has “added way too much to the plate of school counselors” without lowering student-to-counselor ratios or hiring more staff to deal with the increase in student demand, according to the report.
“In some states, this has led to heightened stress and burnout, particularly as some families require intensive support to navigate complex financial and familial situations,” the report noted.
Though the FAFSA has progressively gotten easier to fill out over the years, Kantrowitz said completing the form still requires financial aid expertise. He seconded EdTrust’s call for dedicated funding to support personnel doing the work outside of normal school hours or pay for special events to complete the FAFSA.
“I don’t think you could categorize it as absolutely essential,” Kantrowitz said. “But it’s certainly helpful.”
