California Seniors Set Record with 70% Financial Aid Application Completion

Graduating high school seniors in California have achieved a record-breaking financial aid application completion rate, according to the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). The class of 2026 surpassed a 70% completion rate for financial aid applications, marking a significant increase of 17 percentage points from 53% during the 2021–22 academic year, the commission announced in a June 15 news release.

“High School Seniors, you made history this year,” Daisy Gonzales, executive director of the commission, said in the release. “This milestone is a testament to the hard work of our students, families, educators, and community partners across the state.”

The record comes after a California policy, first implemented during the 2022–23 academic year, that requires graduating seniors to complete a financial aid application as a graduation requirement, unless they opt out by submitting a waiver form. The milestone moves the state closer to the strategic targets outlined in CSAC’s Student Success Blueprint, which aims to ensure 80% of graduating seniors complete a financial aid application by the year 2030.

“Today’s announcement demonstrates powerful, measurable momentum toward that objective, after two years of implementation,” the commission said.

Starting in the 2022–23 academic year, all public school districts and charter schools were required to ensure graduating seniors complete either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA), under a mandate established by California’s 2021–22 State Budget Act (Assembly Bill 132). Students can opt out by submitting a waiver.

Prior to the policy’s adoption, only 53% of California high school seniors completed a FAFSA or CADAA in the 2021–22 school year, when the state ranked 17th nationally for financial aid completion. Students cited several reasons for not submitting a financial aid application, including believing their family was not eligible, not knowing they could apply, or finding the forms too cumbersome, according to a 2018 national study by the National Center for Education Statistics.

As of January, California was one of 12 states that required high school seniors to complete a financial aid application to graduate, according to the online scholarship matching service Fastweb.

A Public Policy Institute of California report, released in October 2025, analyzed the changes in college enrollment and access to financial aid in the first year of the new policy implementation and found it a “promising strategy for increasing both college enrollment and financial aid uptake.” The study found the policy contributed to an additional 1,500 students enrolled in college, resulting in a 0.3 percentage point uptick in the college-going rate. The number of students who completed a financial aid application and enrolled in college grew by 6 percentage points, the report found.

“This reflects not only an overall increase in college enrollment but also more students gaining access to financial aid upon enrollment,” the nonprofit said. The report also found that historically underserved students saw the greatest increase in college enrollment among those who had completed financial aid applications.

Despite the record completion rate, there is still time for some students to apply for financial aid. Seniors who plan to attend a California community college have until September 2 to submit the FAFSA or CADAA, the commission said, adding that it encourages those who have yet to apply to submit an application as soon as possible.

“While we are so proud of all the students who completed a financial aid application, we want students who have not submitted an application yet to know that there is still time, the door is still open, and support is available to help navigate the process,” Matthew Elder, director for the Riverside Cal-SOAP, said in the release. In addition to covering tuition, financial aid can also go toward basic needs, such as housing, food, and transportation, Elder added.

“Higher education is within your reach.”