Compared to last year, high school seniors are forging their own paths. While millions of high school graduates look ahead to four-year universities or community colleges, the new crop of tomorrow’s leaders might not be all that interested in college at all—if the rate of student aid applications says anything.
According to the National College Attainment Network, only 32 percent of the 2024 high school graduating class submitted a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application, a 30.7 percent decline from the same time last year.
James Watts, the founder of ed tech platform Teach.io, said the numbers are reflective of a growing sentiment in the United States: “The cost and worth of a college degree is slowly becoming not worth it.”
The new generation of high school graduates is looking for what Watts calls a “fundamentally different” type of education, and it’s one that is affordable and directly relevant to their career goals.
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“There is a clear, growing disenchantment with traditional college education, especially with the demands of the modern workforce and the rising cost of living not matching up with the costs associated with a degree,” Watts told Newsweek.
The average yearly cost of college currently rests at $27,673, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s more than double what it was in 2000, and many are wondering whether the price of a degree is worth it.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found a 40.1 percent “underemployment rate” among recent graduates, which was a significant climb from 38.2 percent in 2022.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has passed forgiveness plans for select groups of borrowers, but his one-time forgiveness for borrowers of up to $20,000 was shot down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Still, there might be another reason for the reduced number of FAFSA applications. This year, a new version of the FAFSA debuted for students and their parents, and it has been “plagued by issues,” Student Loan Sherpa founder Michael Lux said.
The new form reduced the number of questions and also integrated a new formula to boost financial aid eligibility for low-income students. But getting the application into the hands of current and incoming college students proved more difficult than in previous years.
While typically the FAFSA opens on October 1, the application’s opening was delayed until December 30. After that, applicants reported mass technical glitches until the end of January.
“This massive delay has simply caused many families to not be able to file,” Robert Farrington, founder of The College Investor, told Newsweek. “They’ve forgotten or even missed deadlines, so they have given up.”
That doesn’t mean students seeking higher education should refrain from getting their federal applications in, though.
“My big fear in this situation is that students may turn to private loans to fill the gap,” Lux told Newsweek. “This would be a huge mistake because private loans don’t offer income-driven repayment options or loan forgiveness programs like federal loans. The worst student loan horror stories almost always involve private loans.”
If students do not submit applications by the time the next school year starts, the United States might have to grapple with a larger decrease in college enrollment rates and all that it entails for the future workforce.
“If this trend continues, it could result in fewer students attending college and have long-term effects on workforce development and economic mobility,” Farrington said, adding that small colleges could even close because of lack of interest.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.