All In for Financial Aid
From application to opportunity for California students
Financial aid makes college possible, yet completing an application doesn’t guarantee students receive the aid they are eligible for to help them enroll and succeed.
By increasing Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application (CADAA) completion rates among high school students, California has made major progress in expanding access to financial aid and increasing college enrollments. But racial equity gaps persist in application completion rates, and many high school and community college students continue to face barriers navigating financial aid requirements and accessing the aid they need. To be truly All In for Financial Aid, California must ensure students can successfully navigate the process and receive the support they need to enroll and thrive in college.
Why This Matters
Financial aid isn’t just paperwork. It shapes whether students can enroll in college, cover essential costs, and stay on to earn a degree. Unfortunately, racial inequities remain throughout the financial aid process–from completing an application to actually receiving aid.
EdTrust-West is working to build a more equitable financial aid system. By examining the journey from FAFSA and CADAA completion to actual aid receipt, we identify key barriers and advance solutions that help students stay enrolled and achieve their goals.
By the Numbers
The data below offers a snapshot of financial aid access and outcomes for California high school and community college students, highlighting missed opportunities, disparities among students, and barriers to aid.
$550 million
California’s high school class of 2024 left an estimated $550 million in Pell Grants on the table because eligible students did not complete the FAFSA.
3 to 5 percentage points
Cal Grant, California's primary grant program supporting students from low-income backgrounds, increased bachelor’s degree completion by 3 to 5 percentage points, showing that grant aid can help more students earn a degree.
48%
Less than half (48%) of Black high school students in California completed a FAFSA or CADAA in 2022-23, limiting access to available financial aid.
11 different cost calculations
A review of 211 financial aid offers from colleges across the U.S. found 11 different methods for calculating college costs, making it harder for students to compare offers and understand their expected costs.
$534 million
In 2019–20, an estimated 137,000 California community college students who were likely eligible for Pell Grants did not apply for federal aid, leaving approximately $534 million in potential support unclaimed.
$534 million in Pell Grant dollars left on the table
Every $1 invested in California community colleges generates an estimated $14 in benefits for the state, underscoring the broad return on investment of helping students enroll, persist, and complete their education.
51%
Only 51% of California community college students applied for federal financial aid in 2019–20, leaving many students without access to aid they may have been eligible to receive.
9 in 10
Although Pell-eligible applicants made up fewer than half of FAFSA filers, they accounted for nearly 9 in 10 applicants selected for verification, creating additional barriers for students from low-income backgrounds.
Featured Insights
What Needs to Change
At EdTrust-West, we believe every student deserves a financial aid system that makes college attainable, not more difficult to access. If California is serious about advancing racial and economic equity, it must align policy, outreach, technology, administrative processes, and institutional practices to ensure students can apply for aid, complete required steps, understand their aid options, and receive funds in time to pursue their educational goals. Only then can California ensure that financial aid serves as a pathway to opportunity rather than a barrier to college access and success.
- Ensure access to trusted financial aid support, especially for students from undocumented or mixed-status families.
- Implement universal financial aid application policies equitably.
- Build the staffing and data infrastructure needed to support universal FAFSA and CADAA completion.
- Measure success from application completion through aid receipt.
- Embed financial aid outreach and support throughout the student experience.
- Simplify requirements and remove unnecessary administrative barriers
- Invest in the staff, partnerships, and systems that help students access financial aid.
- Measure success by timely aid receipt and student access to funds.
Take Action
Direct resources where students need it most
Use student data to identify which groups are less likely to complete a FAFSA or CADAA or receive financial aid. Provide additional staff support, outreach, and community partnerships where the gaps are largest.
Support students before, during, and after application submission.
Help students understand that application submission is an important step, but not the final one. Help students check for updates, complete any additional requirements, compare financial aid offers, and get answers to their questions. Continue providing support through graduation, and when possible, during the transition to college.
Invest in early, equitable financial aid education and advising for students.
Provide sustained funding for counselors, college-access staff and programs, multilingual outreach, community-based organizations, and professional development. Resources should support year-round assistance with FAFSA and CADAA completion as well as post-application requirements. Funding should direct additional capacity to schools and communities facing the greatest barriers.
Advocate for clear and fair financial aid systems.
Community feedback can help reveal barriers that application completion numbers alone do not show. Share your experiences with schools, colleges, community organizations, and policymakers when confusing requirements, unclear communication, or delays make it harder for students to receive financial aid. Encourage institutions to provide information in accessible language and identify a person who can resolve problems.
Build the campus infrastructure that help every student complete a FAFSA or CADAA.
Develop a year-round plan to help students complete financial aid applications. Make sure staff across outreach, admissions, counseling, and financial aid work together so students can get help whenever they enter the college process.
Make every step of financial aid process clear.
Keep students informed throughout the financial aid process. Send clear, timely updates when applications and documents are received, when additional information is needed, and when aid is ready. Explain what students need to do next, when they can expect a decision, and where they can get help. Use simple, consistent language so students understand their financial aid and how to access it.
Create the statewide conditions for equitable universal FAFSA and CADAA completion
Provide sustained capacity funding, implementation guidance, data infrastructure, and accountability standards that enable community colleges to support every student in completing a FAFSA or CADAA. Establish clear expectations for outreach, assistance, follow-up, and reporting while allowing colleges to tailor implementation to local student populations. Monitor participation and opt-out patterns by race and ethnicity, age, full-time versus part-time, application type, and other characteristics so universal completion does not reproduce equity gaps.
Use trusted assistance instead of navigating complex issues alone.
Seek help from high schools, Cal-SOAP programs, financial aid offices, and other organizations who provide expert guidance with application corrections, verification, award offers, appeals, enrollment changes, and delayed payments. Ask what is required, why it is required, whether the requirement is federal, state, or college-imposed, and when a decision should be expected. Request a clear point of contact when an issue involves multiple campus offices.
Our Work
Financial Aid for All (FA4All) Coalition
The newly revamped Financial Aid for All (FA4All) Coalition advances racial and economic justice by working to ensure California students not only apply for financial aid, but also navigate required steps and actually receive it.
Empowering Futures: Improving College Access for Multilingual Learners
Empowering Futures centers multilingual learners, a predominantly Latinx population that represents nearly 1 in 5 California K–12 students, who are too often overlooked in college access efforts.
Standing Together: California’s Protections for Undocumented and Immigrant Students
Standing Together offers immediate steps state and local education leaders can take to protect and support undocumented students and mixed-status families amid heightened immigration enforcement and federal uncertainty.
Keeping California’s Promise: Investing Equitably in California’s College Affordability
Cal Grant plays a central role in making college accessible, but its complex design and funding have not kept pace with student needs. This piece calls on the state to provide the funding needed to make the reform a reality for students.
Hidden Figures: A Framework to Increase Access to Financial Aid
Hidden Figures surfaced racial and economic gaps in FAFSA/CADAA completion and identified the infrastructure needed to support students equitably.
Data Tool: Racial Disparities in Financial Aid Completion
Many California students of color attend high schools with low FAFSA and CADAA completion rates.
