{"id":23699,"date":"2021-02-09T14:50:42","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T19:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2021\/02\/09\/necc-and-local-high-schools-address-decline-in-fafsa-applications\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:19:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:19:01","slug":"necc-and-local-high-schools-address-decline-in-fafsa-applications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/02\/09\/necc-and-local-high-schools-address-decline-in-fafsa-applications\/","title":{"rendered":"NECC and Local High Schools Address Decline in FAFSA Applications"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have led to a concerning decrease in the number of families completing higher education financial applications and those decreases are even more pronounced in high schools that serve minority and low-income student populations.<\/p>\n

In Massachusetts this year, FAFSA application completion rates were down 18 percent overall and 25 percent at the 50 Massachusetts high schools with the largest populations of minority and low-income students, according to statistics released in December by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s most concerning about this is that it\u2019s affecting students disproportionately,\u201d said Lane Glenn, president of Northern Essex Community College, with campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence, MA. \u201cMy fear is that we are going to lose the students who have the most to benefit from continuing their education.\u201d<\/p>\n

When President Glenn learned about this trend, he asked the college\u2019s Student Affairs team to reach out to local high schools and find out how the college could help address the issue.<\/p>\n

High Schools Welcome Support from NECC<\/strong><\/h4>\n

What the college discovered is that most local high schools were already concerned about FAFSA completion trends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were surprised we were thinking about this and welcomed the help,\u201d said Monze Stark, NECC\u2019s director of admission.<\/p>\n

At Haverhill High School, for example, FAFSA completion rates were remaining steady in general, but sub-groups, such as students with disabilities and student of color, were completing at much lower rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were concerned about the inequities, and trying to create programming to help families complete the FAFSA,\u201d said Jami Dion, supervisor of school counseling K-12, Haverhill Public Schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Northern Essex reached out, we were trying to handle this internally. It was so helpful to be able to partner with the college since they have so much expertise in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming Up with a Solution<\/strong><\/h4>\n

According to Dion, some families don\u2019t apply for financial aid because they are intimidated by the process. The goal was to create programming that would engage families who hadn\u2019t yet completed, making them aware of the benefits of applying for financial aid and giving them hands-on help with completing the application.<\/p>\n

In partnership with Haverhill High School, Northern Essex will offer a FAFSA Information Session on Feb. 25, open to all Haverhill families, followed by March 4 and 25 workshops in which help will be offered in completing the FAFSA form. Northern Essex financial aid counselors will lead the programs and Haverhill High School will recruit families, with targeted outreach to families who haven\u2019t yet complete the form.<\/p>\n

This is the first time Haverhill has had such \u201can organized, systematic approach\u201d to educating families about the FAFSA, said Dion. \u201cWe really want to move the needle on the FAFSA completion rates for our students so they know a college education is within reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Essex has set up similar programs with Greater Lawrence Technical School (Feb. 3 and 10), Amesbury High School (Feb. 11), Lawrence High School (March 2, 9 and 29), and Methuen High School (March 2 and 16) and is currently working with Triton Regional High School and Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School to schedule programs.<\/p>\n

NECC has Financial Aid Expertise<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At Northern Essex, 65 percent of students receive financial aid, and all incoming students are encouraged to apply, even if they don\u2019t think they will qualify. \u201cWe base the grants and scholarships we give out on the information included in the FAFSA. Even if you aren\u2019t eligible for federal aid, you can get support from other sources as a result of completing the FAFSA,\u201d said Stark.<\/p>\n

Once a student is enrolled, they are paired with a financial aid counselor, who will be with them throughout their time at Northern Essex.<\/p>\n

For more information, contact Stark at mstark@necc.mass.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers\u00a0approximately\u00a060\u00a0associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.\u00a0 Each year,\u00a06,000\u00a0students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and\u00a0another 2,000\u00a0take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.\u00a0 For more information, visit the website at\u00a0www.necc.mass.edu\u00a0or call 978-556-3700.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NECC and Local High Schools Address Decline in FAFSA Applications<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":24966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[16,20],"tags":[177,238,251,293],"class_list":["post-23699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","category-students","tag-covid","tag-enrollment","tag-fafsa","tag-haverhill-high-school"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNECC and Local High Schools Address Decline in FAFSA Applications - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/02\/09\/necc-and-local-high-schools-address-decline-in-fafsa-applications\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NECC and Local High Schools Address Decline in FAFSA Applications - 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