Hawaiʻi public school seniors lag behind the nation when it comes to applying for the federal financial aid that can help them pursue a college degree.

This year, roughly 48% of Hawaiʻi public school graduates completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is required to qualify for federal grants and certain scholarships from colleges, state agencies and private foundations.

That rate remains lower than the pre-pandemic level, when roughly 60% of the public school class of 2019 filled out the FAFSA and the state education department set an ambitious goal of having 90% of all graduates submit the form. 

Including students from private schools improved the state’s FAFSA ranking: Hawaiʻi ranked 14th nationally, with 54% of all graduates applying for federal financial aid this year. 

Look up FAFSA completion rates for high schools in the Hawaiʻi Department of Education:

Since the pandemic, David Sun-Miyashiro, executive director of HawaiiKidsCAN said interest in higher education has declined as more students become skeptical of the value of college given how much it costs. Hawaiʻi’s college attendance rate among public school graduates lags behind the national average. Last year, 52% enrolled in college, compared to the national average of 63%.  

In late 2023, the federal government rolled out a new version of the FAFSA intended to shorten and streamline the application process. But the application opened nearly three months later than usual and wasn’t consistently available online, frustrating and confusing students.  

Last May, only 39% of Hawaiʻi public school seniors had completed the FAFSA, according to the state education department. This year, the application process was smoother and quicker for families, which helped account for Hawaiʻi’s jump in its FAFSA completion rate for public school students, Sun-Miyashiro said. 

It’s easy for families to assume that higher education is out of reach, and students may not realize that the FAFSA opens up many opportunities for financial aid, said Erica Nakanishi-Stanis, advocacy director for HawaiiKidsCAN. For example, completing the FAFSA can make students eligible for state scholarships such as Hawaiʻi Promise, which covers the cost of tuition and books for residents attending the University of Hawaiʻi community colleges. 

“If you don’t do the FAFSA and you don’t realize that, structurally, it’s a gatekeeper to other funding, you could end up losing out on more money than you thought,” Nakanishi-Stanis said. 

In 2023, Hawaiʻi students left $14 million in aid on the table by failing to fill out the FAFSA, according to state estimates of how many eligible students did not claim the federal Pell Grant for college.

Hawaiʻi lawmakers introduced a bill this year requiring the education department to create a plan to make completing the FAFSA a graduation requirement by 2027, although students could request a waiver.

The bill failed to pass. 

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy and “Data Dive” is supported in part by the Will J. Reid Foundation.