State and federal aid applications opened Oct. 1 for the 2022-23 academic year, and area school districts are helping families and students with the process.

While the promise of federal student loan forgiveness and inflation is influencing college decisions, LaShanda Lewis, director of counseling services at Round Rock ISD, said students and families should still consider the application before time runs out. Options for financial assistance include the Free Application for Student Aid, which is used to determine how much aid can be released to pay for a student’s college education.

“We saw during COVID-19, there was a decline nationwide of college applications, but with the rise of the cost of living, parents and students may have to think a little bit more about where they go to college,” Lewis said.

Starting with the 2021-22 academic year, the state of Texas required all high school seniors to complete a financial aid application. Lewis said the new state graduation requirement helps families make informed financial decisions, even and during a post-pandemic environment.

The percentage of 2021 graduates who enrolled in either two- or four-year institutions is 66% in Round Rock ISD. The percentage of Pflugerville ISD’s class of 2019 who enrolled in college is 54%, and in Hutto ISD, about 52% of the class of 2019 enrolled in higher education.

All three districts are involved in Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Direct-to-College Plan, which outlines a goal to enroll 70% of graduating high school seniors in higher education.

From the DTC70 October 2021 report, 73% of its participants filed for the FAFSA, and 66% of DTC70’s graduates were considered, “college ready, filed FAFSA.”

What could also help students filling out the FAFSA form are the expanded eligibility and eliminated questions.

“This year there are fewer questions on the FAFSA, which is going to make it a lot smoother for students to complete and get accurate results,” said Karen Serna, Austin Community College director of student financial wellness and aid outreach.

Federal aid can include the Pell Grant—which is awarded to students who display greater financial need and does not need to be repaid—student loans and work study funds, Serna said. Additionally, the state uses the Texas Application for State Financial Aid for eligibility for state financial aid and has a centralized portal for filling out applications through www.applytexas.org.

In December 2021, Congress passed emergency relief measures that included the FAFSA Simplification Act, to address concerns of diversity in students achieving a post-secondary education.

“I think a lot of [financial aid] is about knowledge, and it generally can be confusing for folks who have not been in this realm before,” said Nikkita Butler, Hutto ISD’s school counseling coordinator.

The application has now removed the Selective Service registration, a previous requirement for all males to register for the military draft, and the question “are you male or female?”

“We advise families to do the application as soon as they can, and when they have all their documents ready to go with the understanding that financial aid is given as a first-come, first-served basis,” Butler said.

In the end, college and career advisers such as Butler agree the process should not be done alone.

“As a society we need larger conversations about what it means to go off to college and how much that can actually cost the student over the years,” Lewis said.

Jennifer Castillo is a reporting fellow for Community Impact and The University of Texas at Austin partnership with a focus our growing and diverse neighborhoods. The project is supported by the School of Journalism and Media’s Dallas Morning News Innovation Endowment.