{"id":9075,"date":"2012-06-22T10:52:58","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T14:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=9075"},"modified":"2012-06-22T10:59:24","modified_gmt":"2012-06-22T14:59:24","slug":"most-florida-high-school-graduates-have-not-applied-for-college-financial-aid-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/06\/22\/most-florida-high-school-graduates-have-not-applied-for-college-financial-aid-this-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Florida High School Graduates Have Not Applied For College Financial Aid This Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jewel Samad \/ Getty Images<\/p>

College debt is a major theme among the Occupy Wall Street movement protests, such as this one last November in Washington, D.C.<\/p><\/div>\n

More than 60 percent of Florida high school graduates have yet to apply for federal financial aid.<\/p>\n

That’s according to an analysis by the Florida College Access Network<\/a> (Florida C.A.N.!), which found that just 38 percent of high school seniors completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)<\/a> by early June for the upcoming \u00a0academic year.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Education unveiled the FAFSA Completion Tool website<\/a> a few months ago to track information about applicants around the country.<\/p>\n

Reasons for not applying include confusion over eligibility, fear of more debt and lack of information about the application process according to Florida C.A.N.<\/p>\n

Florida C.A.N. underwrites StateImpact Florida’s coverage.<\/p>\n

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Even the best deals for college cost a lot of money<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Numbers released in a national report this week show the average cost to complete a degree<\/a> at a four-year public university in Florida is $46,071. That\u2019s the lowest in the country<\/a>. But plenty of Florida students will borrow money to pay for it.<\/p>\n

The FAFSA form is necessary for Pell grants, federal loans and work-study programs. It\u2019s also commonly used for state and university aid, as well as scholarships.<\/p>\n

Public universities in Florida have more than 329,000 students enrolled for the current academic year. Many of them received Bright Futures scholarships<\/a>. These are merit based scholarships funded by the Florida lottery. Anyone hoping to participate in Bright Futures<\/a> this fall will need to fill out a FAFSA by August 31st<\/sup>.<\/a><\/p>\n

The form provides \u201cvaluable information to university financial aid officers about student eligibility for many different types of aid,\u201d according to BOG spokeswoman Kelly Layman. \u201cIt is to the student\u2019s benefit to complete a FAFSA as soon as possible, since some aid is generally on a \u2018first come, first served\u2019 basis,\u201d said Layman.<\/p>\n

But filling out a FAFSA isn’t easy.<\/p>\n

First you have to go online or request a paper copy.<\/p>\n

And the FAFSA requires a long list of the documents, including:<\/p>\n