“Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid” is available from the American Council on Education. (Requires Adobe’s Acrobat Reader.)
Fifty percent of undergraduates enrolled at higher education institutions, or roughly 8 million students, did not bother to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, according to a study.
That application, commonly known as the FAFSA, is the standard form used by the federal government, state governments, and many colleges and universities seeking to determine the financial need of applicants.
The study—released this month by the American Council on Education, a Washington-based umbrella organization for higher education—also points out that 20 percent of students from families with annual household incomes lower than $20,000 did not complete the FAFSA.