A new analysis showed that the share of college applicants and students filing for financial aid has increased dramatically in recent years, but many who most need assistance are submitting their paperwork too late to get the funds, the Wall Street Journal reported. CampusLogic, a company that helps nearly 500 community colleges and private and public four-year schools manage their financial aid processes, examined federal aid applications called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or Fafsa. That application turns on the spigot for federal aid like Pell grants and Stafford loans, as well as for state scholarships and many institutional awards. The review of 2.4 million Fafsas submitted between Oct. 1, 2017, and Oct. 31, 2018, for aid that would cover the 2018-2019 academic year, found that 30 percent of students whose parents’ adjusted gross income was in the lowest quintile submitted their Fafsa after March 1, 2018. Meanwhile, two-thirds of those whose parents were in the highest income quintile, earning upward of $133,000, submitted it by Feb. 1.
