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More high school seniors had applied for federal student aid by this month than the previous year's seniors had by June 30 last year, the National College Access Network said Wednesday.
Data released this month by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid showed that 1.98 million high school seniors completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid by May 5, 2017. That was about 5,000 more than during the entire 2016 aid cycle.
"Meeting this benchmark eight weeks earlier than last year is a positive sign that the early FAFSA is working," said Carrie Warick, NCAN's director of policy and advocacy.
Last fall, the Department of Education moved the start of the financial aid application cycle from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, partly with the hope of getting more students to apply for federal aid.
