2021 College Aid: How Kansas City Area Compares In Application Rates

KANSAS CITY, MO — Just as high school seniors are starting to apply for federal financial aid for college next year, nationwide figures that show applications are down about 3.1 percent compared with the same time last year.

About 660,000 students completed the application as of Nov. 19 for the 2022-23 aid cycle, compared with 681,000 for the same time last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of data on the Free Application For Federal Student Aid.

In Missouri, 11,466 FAFSA applications were completed as of Nov. 19 for the current cycle, compared with 11,518 completions at the same point last year. That is a 0.5 percent decrease. (See how Kansas City area high schools compare below.)

It's unclear whether the high school class of 2022 will reverse negative trends in FAFSA completions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, said Bill DeBaun, director of data and evaluation for the National College Attainment Network.

"Many schools, and students, are re-adjusting to being back in person, and students who have lost 20 months of building 'college knowledge' about the process for applying to college are likely to be slow, or reluctant, to complete the FAFSA," DeBaun told Patch. "That said, there’s still a lot of time left in this cycle for the class of 2022 to catch up to, and surpass, previous classes."

College enrollment figures have slipped in recent years. Fall 2021 enrollment was down 3.2 percent from fall 2020 and down 6.5 percent from fall 2019, according to the NCAN.

Last cycle, the decline of FAFSA completions was steeper among Title 1 high schools, meaning those where low-income students make up at least 40 percent of enrollment. However, the decline is steeper for non-Title 1 schools so far this cycle.

So far Missouri is following the national trend. Completed applications increased 1.7 percent from Title 1 schools, compared with a 1.7 percent drop for non-Title 1 school applications as of Nov. 19.

Here is how schools in the Kansas City area are doing with FAFSA completion as of Nov. 19 for the 2020-21 cycle compared with the 2019-20 cycle. See more Kansas City area high schools here. Note: Percent changes can be affected by a relatively small difference in completions, especially for smaller schools. FAFSA data only counts students who are no older than 19.

School: FRONTIER SCHL OF EXCELLENCE-U
District: FRONTIER SCHOOLS
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020:
• Percent change:
• Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide

School: ALLEN VILLAGE HIGH SCHOOL
District: ALLEN VILLAGE
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020:
• Percent change:
• Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide

School: NORTHEAST HIGH
District:KANSAS CITY 33
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 12
• Percent change: -58.33
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: HOGAN PREPARATORY ACADEMY
District:HOGAN PREPARATORY ACADEMY
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 6
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 5
• Percent change: 20
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: PASEO ACAD. OF PERFORMING ARTS
District:KANSAS CITY 33
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 9
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 6
• Percent change: 50
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: CROSSROADS HIGH SCHOOL
District:CROSSROADS CHARTER SCHOOLS
Municipality: Kansas City

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 10
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 5
• Percent change: 100
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER
District:UNIVERSITY ACADEMY
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 11
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 11
• Percent change: 0
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: CENTER SR. HIGH
District:CENTER 58
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 15
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 15
• Percent change: 0
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: WINNETONKA HIGH
District:NORTH KANSAS CITY 74
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 18
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 30
• Percent change: -40
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: EAST HIGH SCHOOL
District:KANSAS CITY 33
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 18
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 16
• Percent change: 12.5
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: GRANDVIEW SR. HIGH
District:GRANDVIEW C-4
Municipality: GRANDVIEW

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 21
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 31
• Percent change: -32.26
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: GUADALUPE CENTERS HIGH SCHOOL
District:GUADALUPE CENTERS SCHOOLS
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 22
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 23
• Percent change: -4.35
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: FRONTIER STEM HIGH SCHOOL
District:FRONTIER SCHOOLS
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 22
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 11
• Percent change: 100
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: RAYTOWN SOUTH SR. HIGH
District:RAYTOWN C-2
Municipality: RAYTOWN

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 24
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 49
• Percent change: -51.02
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: RUSKIN HIGH SCHOOL
District:HICKMAN MILLS C-1
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 25
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 33
• Percent change: -24.24
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: RAYTOWN SR. HIGH
District:RAYTOWN C-2
Municipality: RAYTOWN

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 36
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 32
• Percent change: 12.5
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: PLATTE COUNTY HIGH
District:PLATTE CO. R-III
Municipality: PLATTE CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 50
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 50
• Percent change: 0
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: OAK PARK HIGH
District:NORTH KANSAS CITY 74
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 51
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 56
• Percent change: -8.93
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: EWING MARION KAUFFMAN HIGH
District:EWING MARION KAUFFMAN SCHOOL
Municipality: Kansas City

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 58
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 42
• Percent change: 38.1
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: NORTH KANSAS CITY HIGH
District:NORTH KANSAS CITY 74
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 72
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 96
• Percent change: -25
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: LINCOLN COLLEGE PREP.
District:KANSAS CITY 33
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 84
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 55
• Percent change: 52.73
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: STALEY HIGH
District:NORTH KANSAS CITY 74
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 99
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 80
• Percent change: 23.75
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: PARK HILL HIGH
District:PARK HILL
Municipality: KANSAS CITY

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 135
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 132
• Percent change: 2.27
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

The FAFSA deadline for the 2021-2022 academic year is June 30, 2022, while the 2022-23 deadline is June 30, 2023. Many states and colleges set their own deadlines for aid applications. There has been a push in recent years to have students fill out the FAFSA earlier in their senior year.

Editor’s note: This list was automatically generated using FAFSA data analyzed by the Associated Press. Federal high school counts don't include students over the age of 19. Information isn't available for all schools. Schools with fewer than five completions are omitted from the data. Please report any errors or other feedback to content@patch.com.