Indiana’s April 15 deadline to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — a requirement to graduate high school and be considered for state financial aid to college — is days away.

Only 45% of Hoosier high school seniors completed a FAFSA as of April 2, according to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Last year, 55% of seniors met the April 15 deadline, while another 5% finished the FAFSA by June 30 to be considered for federal aid.

“We want them to file the FAFSA, because getting into more debt or taking loans they don’t have to — almost nobody wants to see that happen,” said William Wozniak, vice president of INvestEd, which assists parents with financial aid applications.

The completion rate is nearly 10 percentage points higher for Hoosiers participating in the state’s need-based 21st Century Scholars financial aid program, according to CHE.

Seniors who don’t complete the FAFSA by April 15 can opt out to graduate.

Still, Wozniak said it’s better for students undecided about college to complete the FAFSA anyway to guarantee they’ll be considered for financial aid, rather than forgo the application only to change their mind once it’s too late to apply.

“They can better plan on actual numbers as opposed to numbers that might be wildly different than what they’re actually going to end up paying,” he said.

CHE will award nearly $400 million in financial aid this year.

The two largest grants are the 21st Century Scholarship and Frank O’Bannon Scholarship, both need-based scholarships.

CHE enacted funding cuts to the Frank O’Bannon scholarship in 2024 following an unexpected surge in students becoming eligible for financial aid, though funding should remain the same this year.

Other scholarships are available for aspiring educators, children of disabled veterans and workforce-related aid.

Feds to warn applicants of low-earning colleges

The FAFSA will now flag colleges where former students report lower median earnings four years after graduation or leaving school than a typical high school graduate.

The Federal Student Aid office will notify students who select one of these institutions on their financial aid application once their FAFSA is finished.

The disclosures will not affect financial aid decisions.

Students can also access the College Scorecard online as they complete the FAFSA.

The lowest-ranking colleges in Indiana include for-profit colleges and beauty schools like the Empire Beauty School in Indianapolis, which costs an average student $17,000 a year, according to the College Scorecard.

Median earnings four years after graduation for a student who received federal aid are just $26,000, the portal shows.

The transparency portal comes amid state and federal scrutiny of colleges and degrees with low earning potential.

By 2028, the U.S. Dept. of Education will cap federal student loans to some college programs where graduates earn less than a typical high school graduate, though current students will remain eligible.

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education will also begin a review of low-earning degree programs to determine which ones should continue.

The disclosure is beneficial for families assessing the potential return on investment from different colleges, Wozniak said.

“You don’t want people just going blindly without a plan, without research, without understanding what’s best for them,” he said. “This is what we’ve talked about for decades: looking at the actual net price, looking at the income and potential income after graduation. These are really, really important steps.”

Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.