2021 College Aid: How Cleveland Area Compares In Application Rates

CLEVELAND, OH — 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 Ohio, 22,872 FAFSA applications were completed as of Nov. 19 for the current cycle, compared with 22,266 completions at the same point last year. That is a 2.7 percent increase. (See how Cleveland 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 Ohio is not following the national trend. Completed applications increased 2.4 percent from Title 1 schools, compared with a 2.8 percent increase for non-Title 1 school applications as of Nov. 19.

Here is how schools in the Cleveland area are doing with FAFSA completion as of Nov. 19 for the 2020-21 cycle compared with the 2019-20 cycle. See more Cleveland 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: East Technical High School
District: Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 5
• Percent change: 0
• Title 1 status: Title I schoolwide

School: John Adams College & Career Academy
District: Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020:
• Percent change:
• Title 1 status: Not Title I schoolwide

School: Davis Aerospace & Maritime High School
District:Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 5
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 5
• Percent change: 0
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Shaw High School
District:East Cleveland City School District
Municipality: East Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 6
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 5
• Percent change: 20
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: New Technology West
District:Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

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

School: Garfield Heights High School
District:Garfield Heights City Schools
Municipality: Garfield Heights

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 17
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 39
• Percent change: -56.41
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Horizon Science Acad Cleveland
District:Horizon Science Acad Cleveland
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 19
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 15
• Percent change: 26.67
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Campus International High School
District:Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 21
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 17
• Percent change: 23.53
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Cuyahoga Hts High School
District:Cuyahoga Heights Local
Municipality: Cuyahoga Heights

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 21
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 16
• Percent change: 31.25
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Cleveland School of Architecture & Design
District:Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 22
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 24
• Percent change: -8.33
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Cleveland School Of The Arts High School
District:Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 26
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 37
• Percent change: -29.73
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Cleveland Early College High
District:Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 37
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 36
• Percent change: 2.78
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Cleveland School of Science & Medicine
District:Cleveland Municipal
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 39
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 45
• Percent change: -13.33
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Ohio Connections Academy Inc
District:Ohio Connections Academy Inc
Municipality: Cleveland

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 46
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 34
• Percent change: 35.29
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Lakewood High School
District:Lakewood City
Municipality: Lakewood

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 59
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 50
• Percent change: 18
• Title 1 status:Title I schoolwide

School: Normandy High School
District:Parma City
Municipality: Parma

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 66
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 54
• Percent change: 22.22
• Title 1 status:Not Title I schoolwide

School: Shaker Hts High School
District:Shaker Heights City
Municipality: Shaker Heights

• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2021: 108
• Total FAFSA completions as of Nov. 19, 2020: 128
• Percent change: -15.62
• 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.