College Board Study Discovers that Many Community College Students Do Not Apply for Financial Aid

Source: College Board

New College Board Report Finds Millions in Financial Aid Go Unclaimed at Community Colleges

Low- and Moderate-Income Students Lack the Advice that Could Bring Them into the U.S. Workforce

The study, The Financial Aid Challenge: Successful Practices that Address the Underutilization of Financial Aid in Community Colleges, conducted in collaboration with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) showed that:

• In the 2007-08 academic year, 58 percent of Pell Grant-eligible students who attended community colleges either full or part-time applied for federal financial aid, compared with 77 percent of eligible students at four-year public institutions;
• During the two-year period from fall 2007 to fall 2009, full-time enrollment at U.S. community colleges increased by 24.1 percent;
• Students are reluctant to apply for aid in part due to a lack of basic understanding, inconsistent or inaccurate information, distrust of government agencies, difficulty using resources during designated hours and a lack of human or technological resources on campus.