By Bill DeBaun, Senior Director, Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Four minutes
About 33% of the high school class of 2026 has completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) through the end of December 2025.
This year’s high school seniors are still on-track to set an all-time high for FAFSA completion. This exciting development is welcome news for National College Attainment Network (NCAN) members and everyone else who cares about students’ postsecondary
futures.
FAFSA completion is highly correlated with college going, making the completion rate an important indicator of how current high school seniors are thinking about college.
Students and families continue to see the value of college, and are voting with their feet.
Along with increased FAFSA completions, college applicants and applications are up according to Common App,
and postsecondary enrollment grew in fall 2025. The United States is building momentum
towards more students obtaining the postsecondary education needed for long-term success in today’s economy. As students work towards their educational and career goals, they are benefiting from a FAFSA that makes applying for financial aid much
easier.
The completion rate data comes from NCAN’s FAFSA Tracker, which is in its 9th year of visualizing FAFSA data at the national, state, and local levels. The Tracker uses the Federal Student Aid Data Center’s high school-level data on submissions and completions, which is updated each Friday.
More than 1.3 million high school seniors have completed a FAFSA as of December 26. This is 9.8% more FAFSAs than the class of 2023 completed through the end of December in the 2023-24 cycle. (The class of 2023 was the most recent to experience an October
1 FAFSA opening).
“We are finally seeing the promise of a better and simpler FAFSA made real,” said NCAN CEO Kim Cook. “This year’s smoother process is helping to rebuild trust in the financial aid system with the students and families
that NCAN member organizations serve every day. Because of this excellent work, the high school class of 2026 may reach the highest FAFSA completion rate ever, ensuring that more students will gain access to the
Pell Grants that help make postsecondary education more affordable.”
The estimated 32.9% FAFSA completion rate for the class of 2026 is the highest NCAN has recorded by the end of December going back to the class of 2017. If the class of 2026’s performance keeps or exceeds its current rate and/or follows the pattern of
previous FAFSA cycles that opened October 1, the United States could be on track for a national FAFSA completion rate of about 57% by June 30, an all-time high.
NCAN documents the current national record high by June 30 as 54.4%, a mark achieved by the class of 2018.
“College remains one of the most powerful engines of economic mobility we have, and financial aid access makes that opportunity real for students and families,” said Aaron Lemon-Strauss, Executive Director, FAFSA Program at the US Department of Education.
“These results reflect not only improvements to the FAFSA experience, but also the extraordinary work of NCAN and college access professionals nationwide, who help students navigate the financial aid process to reach their higher education goals.
We’re grateful for that partnership and excited about the momentum we’re seeing..”
Pushing Forward at the State Level
At the state level through the end of December, Illinois (46.6%), Tennessee (42.4%), New Jersey (42.2%), Massachusetts (40.5%), and Texas (40.1%) comprise the top five states by percent of seniors completing.
We have not yet reported year-over-year change for states given the late opening of last year’s 2025-26 cycle. We anticipate adding that figure back when the data for this cycle an last year’s begin to better align.
Students and families are benefiting from a FAFSA experience that is speedier, smoother, and simpler than previous years, with many students and advocates reporting a process that takes as little as 15 minutes end to end.
Looking ahead, state financial aid deadlines should continue to drive FAFSA completion. Texas, notably, has a January 15 FAFSA deadline for priority consideration. NCAN will continue
to monitor the data from Federal Student Aid and update the FAFSA Tracker on a weekly basis.
NCAN maintains a full suite of FAFSA resources for the field, and we encourage practitioners in all settings to explore to find what’s right for them. Beyond this, we’ve also highlighted some promising
statewide practices to help promote FAFSA completion:
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