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What We’re Learning: FAFSA
A Data Update from the Wisconsin HOPE Lab
June 4, 2015
The FAFSA represents a significant hurdle that students from many families must overcome in
order to attend and pay for college. Research indicates that the complexity of the application and
the difficulty of the process involved in completing it may prevent some students from obtaining
financial aid.1 In recent years, policymakers have worked alongside foundations and community
based organizations to help more students complete the FAFSA, and the federal government has
taken steps to reduce the length of time it takes to complete the form.2
Last year, the White House and the U.S. Department of Education began an effort encouraging
students to “Reach Higher” and the First Lady spoke to students across the country, urging
them to complete the FAFSA. These outreach efforts state that the process is “free, quick (on
average, taking about 20 minutes!), and easy.”3
Bettinger, Eric A., Bridget Terry Long, Philip Oreopolous and Lisa Sanbonmatsu. 2012. “The Role of Application
Assistance and Information in College Decisions: Results from the H&R Block FAFSA Experiment.” The Quarterly
Journal of Economics, 127(3): 1205-42.
1
Dynarski, Susan M. and Judith E. Scott-Clayton. 2007. “College Grants on a Postcard: A Proposal for Simple
and Predictable Federal Student Aid.” The Hamilton Project Discussion Paper 2007-01; Kelchen, Robert and
Gigi Jones. 2015. “A Simulation of Pell Grant Awards Using Prior Prior Year Financial Data.” Journal of Education
Finance, 40(3), 253-272; Castleman, Ben and Lindsay Page. 2015. “Beyond FAFSA Completion.” Change
Magazine, January-February 2015.
2
3
U.S. Department of Education. 2015. http://www2.ed.gov/news/newsletters/edreview/2015/0109.html
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How are these efforts affecting students in Wisconsin?
In August, the Wisconsin HOPE Lab fielded a survey of 1065 first-year college students to elicit
information on college academic preparation, postsecondary goals, financial aid knowledge,
employment, family support, and health. All students surveyed had completed the FAFSA and
according to the needs analysis had an expected family contribution of less than or equal to
$10,314, or 200% of the threshold for Pell Grant eligibility. The survey included questions about
the time it took to complete the FAFSA and the support students received in the process.
Specifically, the survey asked:
•
•
In total, about how long did it take you to complete your financial aid application
(FAFSA)?
When you were completing your FAFSA, how difficult was it for you to get personal
or financial information from your parents?
This brief explores variation in FAFSA completion times and difficulties obtaining necessary
information from their parents. To provide a more complete picture of students and their
experiences with the FAFSA, the survey responses to the questions above are combined with
other information about students obtained from the same survey, including Pell eligibility, first
generation status (meaning that neither parent has a bachelor’s degree), and type of institution
attended.
Students were first asked how long it took them to complete the FAFSA. There were six
response options, ranging from “less than 30 minutes” to “more than 4 hours.” Figure 1 describes
the distribution of student responses.
In contrast to federal outreach efforts claiming that the FAFSA takes just 20 minutes to complete,
over 90% of survey respondents said it took longer than 30 minutes. Students most commonly
reported that the FAFSA took 30-60 minutes to complete, but almost 20% required at least
two hours. While it seems that the federal estimates refer only to the time required in order to
complete the online process, based on prior research conducted with similar populations we
suspect students think about FAFSA completion in terms of the total time required—including the
time necessary to gather the required information.4
Consider the average of 55 minutes reported in U.S. Department of Education. 2015. https://fafsa.
ed.gov/help/fotwfaq59.htm and compare that to slide 35 here: http://fsaconferences.ed.gov/conferences/
library/2014/2014FSAConfSessionGS2.ppt. The difference between the two appears to be the focus on online time
as opposed to preparation plus online time. To its credit, ED does note that the process takes longer for dependent
students completing a FAFSA for the first time. All students in our sample meet that criterion.
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Figure 1. Self-reported FAFSA completion times
50%
45%
44%
40%
35%
30%
29%
25%
20%
15%
10%
0%
10%
8%
5%
6%
3%
Less than 30
minutes
30 minutes
to 1 hour
2 to 3 hours
1 to 2 hours
3 to 4 hours
More than
4 hours
Figure 2 displays FAFSA completion times by student characteristics. Reported completion times
were slightly higher for non-Pell eligible students and students with one or more parent with at
least a bachelor’s degree. Completion times for students attending 4-year institutions, however,
were substantially greater than completion times for students attending 2-year institutions.
Figure 2. Self-reported FAFSA completion times by student characteristics
100%
80%
67%
60%
40%
54%
53%
49%
38%
49%
42%
37%
50%
43%
40%
28%
20%
0%
Pell eligible
Non-Pell
eligible
First
generation
1 hour or less
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Parent(s)
BA or above
1 to 3 hours
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6%
8%
Attends
Attends
2-year college 4-year college
More than 3 hours
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Finally, the survey explored students’ difficulties obtaining their parents’ personal or financial
information, which are both necessary for FAFSA completion. The survey allowed five
responses, ranging from “Not at all” to “Extremely.” As shown in Figure 3, the modal student had
no difficulty obtaining parent information. However, 10% of students reported that obtaining that
information was “very” or “extremely” difficult.
Figure 3. Self-reported difficulty of obtaining parent personal or financial information
50%
40%
45%
30%
23%
20%
23%
10%
0%
7%
Not at all
Slightly
Somewhat
Very
3%
Extremely
Taking a closer look by student characteristics, as seen in Figure 4, reveals that Pell-eligible
students were more than twice as likely as non-eligible students to report that obtaining their
parents’ information was “very” or “extremely” difficult.
Figure 4. Difficulty obtaining parent personal or financial information by student
characteristics
50%
47%
44%
46%
44%
40%
28%
30%
20%
20%
24%
24%24%
20%
12%
10%
8%
5%
0%
Pell eligible
Non-Pell
eligible
Not at all
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First
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Somewhat
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10%
Very or Extremely
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Difficulty obtaining parent information appears to be an important factor in determining FAFSA
completion times. Figure 5 shows the results of cross-referencing completion times with students’
difficulty obtaining their parents’ personal and financial information.
FAFSA COMPLETION TIME
Figure 5. Time to complete FAFSA by difficulty obtaining parent personal or financial
information
More than 4 hours
3 to 4 hours
2 to 3 hours
1 to 2 hours
30 minutes to 1 hour
Less than 30 minutes
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Not at all
Slightly
Somewhat
Very
Extremely
DIFFICULTY OBTAINING PARENTS’ PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Of the students who required less than 30 minutes to complete the FAFSA, 69% reported no
difficulty obtaining their parents’ information and only 2% reported that obtaining information was
“very” or “extremely” difficult. In contrast, only 21% of students whose FAFSA required more than
4 hours to complete reported no difficulty obtaining their parents’ information, and 31% reported
that obtaining information was “very” or “extremely” difficult.
It is important to note that these results likely understate the difficulties students face when
completing the FAFSA. Only current college students who completed the FAFSA were surveyed.
Had the survey included students who were unable to complete the FAFSA, they would have
likely faced higher completion times, received less help, and faced greater difficulties obtaining
the necessary personal and financial information from their parents.
These results indicate that FAFSA completion requires longer (and sometimes much longer)
than the 20 minutes that is frequently advertised. Students with longer completion times often
experienced more difficulty obtaining their parents’ personal and financial information. Although
federal outreach efforts are intended to increase the number of students applying for financial
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aid, there are risks involved in understating the time it takes to complete the FAFSA. Students
must set aside enough time to complete the form. Failure to do so can lead to frustration
and non-completion, and may contribute to a lack of trust in the system. Presenting accurate
information regarding the time students and families need in order to prepare for and complete
the FAFSA may help to increase completion rates and improve public perception of the process.
We suggest a simple, intuitive approach, like Figure 6, to communicate what students really need
to prepare.
Figure 6. What it takes to FAFSA
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