What the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) Is Telling Us About FAFSA Completion Rates for the 2026-27 FAFSA Cycle

As we enter the colder months of the year, the number of students completing a FAFSA increases in intensity as their college decisions begin to take precedence in their final months of high school. One of the most trusted sources for projecting the number of high school seniors completing the FAFSA is the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) organization.

Founded as a 501(c)(3) organization in 1995 by nine founding members who shared a desire to promote college success stories, NCAN plays a key role in tracking FAFSA completion results at both the national and state levels, providing essential data for informed policy and program decisions.

Historically speaking, completing the FAFSA is one of the surefire ways for high school seniors to unlock access to life-changing federal grants and self-help aid sources of financial assistance. Unfortunately, too many high school seniors eschew this best practice because they mistakenly believe they do not qualify for anything. This rhetoric creates dissonance, as the FAFSA form is free to complete and often surprises students with what they are eligible for. Some states require high school seniors to complete a FAFSA form to determine their initial eligibility before applying to college or university.

NCAN’s FAFSA Tracker is one of its most valuable free tools. As of December 19, 2025, 32.1% of the high school class has completed a FAFSA, reflecting progress that should inspire confidence in ongoing outreach efforts. Over 1.3 million FAFSA completions nationally, a 10% increase from the same point in the 2023 cycle, demonstrate positive momentum.

A key contributor to this increase is the punctual opening of the FAFSA form this year, unlike the chaotic rollout over the last two cycles. Following the infamous revamp of the FAFSA form during the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle, the Department of Education committed to addressing its previous issues by officially launching the FAFSA before October 1. To prevent future FAFSA opening miscues, Congress passed the FAFSA Deadline Act, which mandates that the Department of Education have the FAFSA available by October 1 annually. Further, the FAFSA Deadline Act stipulated that the Secretary of Education must certify to Congress by September 1 that the form will be available by the statutory October 1 release date.

What states have had the highest percentage of high school seniors complete the 2026-27 FAFSA form? As of December 19, 2025, the states with the highest rates were Illinois (45.8%), Tennessee (41.7%), New Jersey (41.3%), Massachusetts (39.7%), and Texas (39.4%). Delaware ranked 18th in FAFSA completion among high school seniors, with 32.3% of seniors completing the FAFSA form.

At a microscopic level, Newark Charter School led the way for Delaware, with an estimated 85.5% of its senior class having completed the FAFSA form as of December 19. Other notable schools with a 50% or higher completion rate for their senior class include the Cab Calloway School of the Arts, Charter School of Wilmington, MOT Charter School, and Sussex Academy. Overall, all the high schools outlined in the chart indicated that more seniors at each school are completing the FAFSA than the class of 2025. It’s important to note that the sample size varies for each high school, which can make explosive growth appear higher than usual in a statistical context.

At the county level, New Castle County leads the way with 35.4% of its high school seniors completing a FAFSA. Sussex County trails narrow behind at 33.6%, and Kent County is a significant laggard to the other two counties, with only 26.3% of high school seniors in that county completing a FAFSA. All three counties are experiencing an increase in FAFSA completions year-over-year. New Castle County, Delaware’s most populous county, is witnessing a 123% in FAFSA completion year-over-year, while Sussex County is experiencing a nearly 200% increase.

Interestingly, the data reveal an uncomfortable truth: the delayed rollout of the 2025-26 FAFSA likely resulted in fewer students completing the FAFSA last year compared to this year’s class, which had an expected launch date of October 1. An October 1 launch date is crucial for achieving a higher FAFSA completion rate among high school seniors, as every moment of senior year matters in making an informed decision about their future.

As colleges intensify their outreach to high school seniors about the need to complete a FAFSA before finalizing an aid offer, the number of seniors in Delaware who complete a FAFSA form is likely to increase in pace after the academic year returns from its two-week holiday hiatus.

A high FAFSA completion rate among high school seniors suggests a robust college enrollment cycle for the upcoming academic year. Students who complete a FAFSA are significantly more likely to enroll in a postsecondary education program immediately after graduation than their peers who do not complete the form. This statistic is especially true for those at the lower level of the socioeconomic scale. While it’s still early in the recruitment cycle, the data available from NCAN portrays an interesting year for college enrollment with the class of 2026. Let’s hope it continues into the warmer months of spring.