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All Nebraska high schoolers must now complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in order to graduate, in accordance with an amendment to state law that goes into effect this academic year.
Interest in universal FAFSA requirements has surged after the bungled rollout of the new federal aid form last cycle. Nebraska is one of five states implementing universal FAFSA this academic year, along with Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Oklahoma, bringing the total number of states with FAFSA graduation requirements to 12.
About 47 percent of high school seniors in Nebraska completed the FAFSA last year, according to data from the National College Attainment Network, a little more than 10 percent behind the previous cycle and slightly worse than the national average.
By contrast, a few states that had already implemented FAFSA graduation requirements fared far better on completion rates. Indiana, which conducted its first year of universal FAFSA during the bungled rollout, ended the cycle only one percentage point behind the previous year. And Illinois and Texas, the first two states to require the FAFSA for high school graduates, had the highest overall completion rates, at about 60 percent of students.
