FAFSA® Completion by High School 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. The data included in the attached charts reflect the number of submitted and completed FAFSAs among first-time filing applicants no older than 18 who will have received their high school diploma by the start of the school year to which they are applying for aid. The data is displayed in spreadsheets broken down by state or territory that include the school name and city of the high school.
Other Aid | What If No Help from Parents? This section of FinAid provides advice to students whose parents are unable or unwilling to help students pay for school. Regardless of the situation, some of the more common questions received by FinAid come from students seeking help because their parents cannot contribute to their education. FinAid supports changes in federal legislation that would shift the burden to the students. Unfortunately, current federal law does not provide many options for students who want to go to college but whose parents refuse to help. For an abbreviated version of this advice, see Fastweb’s How to Deal If Your Parents Won’t Pay. Federal Government Policies on Parental Responsibility The federal government and the schools consider it primarily the family's responsibility to pay for school. In cases of divorce, the custodial parent is responsible for completing the FAFSA form. Prenuptial agreements are ignored in student aid need analysis. Advice for Students and Parents Talk to each parent separately.