‘College crisis’: Tennessee sees biggest decrease in FAFSA applications

Kendall Ashman
·2 min read
1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It’s being called a “college crisis” for high school seniors in Tennessee.

The federal application students use to get financial aid, FAFSA, has been plagued with issues. Now there’s a sign some students are just giving up because Tennessee had the biggest decrease in applications in the country.

“I think the core of the issue is the delay with the FAFSA of this year,” Kelly Pietkiewicz, scholarship coordinator for Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee said.

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This year, the Department of Education rolled out a new FAFSA application process used to apply for financial aid. The major downside is that the application was released two months later than in years past—putting pressure on students to decide about college before they know how it will be paid for.

“It’s like asking you to buy the house without giving you the bill for the house. We are asking students to trust us without knowing everything they are getting,” Pietkiewicz said.

Because of this, schools across the country are adjusting their enrollment confirmation deadline. The University of Tennessee just extended theirs until the middle of May.

“One huge step we took this year is we did not require the FAFSA for our general scholarship application,” Pietkiewicz said.

Pietkiewicz works for the nonprofit Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. She helps connect students across the state to scholarships. “One thing we also do is work directly work with Nashville and Middle Tennessee counselors and say ‘We are here and ready to help.’”

However, now she fears students will get discouraged from applying to college altogether.

Data shows a 44% decrease in Tennessee students completing a FAFSA compared to last year.

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“I think we are going to see a large dip in enrollment for students attending college in the fall,” Pietkiewicz said.

For more resources for FAFSA support, click here.

You can also reach out to the scholarship director from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

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