Despite progress in recent months, FAFSA completion rates among high school seniors in Minnesota are still lower than in previous years.  

The FAFSA, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is how students qualify for federal and state grants, as well as many school scholarships and other types of financial support to cover the cost of attending an institution of higher education.

For the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, the U.S. Department of Education implemented changes intended to make the FAFSA process simpler, but the application’s release was delayed and the form plagued with technical glitches. 

Data shows 2,478 fewer high school seniors in Minnesota have completed the FAFSA this cycle compared to last, as of tracking updated through July 5, reflecting a 6.8 percent decrease. 

“The technology in the new form was not ready, so students ran into a lot of issues and technical challenges … that delayed the process really significantly, of students just simply not being able to complete it,” said Isaiah Allen, spokesperson for College Possible Minnesota, a nonprofit offering college readiness programs for low-income students. 

Minnesota fares better than most of the country — it’s in the top three states where FAFSA completion has dropped the least. Allen points out that completion rates have also improved in Minnesota in the last two months, which is not the case in many states.  

Still, there is concern that the challenges of accessing financial aid will prevent students from attending college in fall. The National College Attainment Network reports FAFSA completion was correlated with an 84 percent increase in college enrollment in one study. 

Amanda Justen is program strategy manager for Achieve Twin Cities. She said some students who couldn’t complete the FAFSA in time for their high-school graduation ended up not committing to a college. 

“And then, once they graduate and go off, I think some students in that situation just decided to maybe take a year off and work or weren’t able to make a decision on their college,” she said. 

Justen said many of the technical issues with the FAFSA have been resolved, so it’s a matter of getting people help now. 

In May, state officials announced grants to both College Possible and Achieve Twin Cities to help Minnesotans get one-on-one help with the FAFSA. The nonprofits are offering individualized support through appointments and at events this summer.  

Justen reminds students they can still receive aid. The FAFSA deadline for the 2024-2025 academic year isn’t until the end of it: June 30, 2025. 

“Our main message right now is definitely if students applied and were accepted to college, and that’s still their goal, there’s still time to do the FAFSA,” said Justen. 

How to get help with FAFSA

College Possible is offering free individualized support for all Minnesotans to complete the FAFSA or the MN Dream Act, which is the FAFSA equivalent for undocumented students, virtually through their website.

It also has three upcoming events at the Mall of America at the Capital One Café from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on several upcoming Thursdays: July 18, Aug. 8 and Aug. 22. 

Allen said people seeking help should bring their social security numbers, tax ID and FAFSA IDs, if they have them. He said applications have taken between 15 minutes to 2.5 hours, usually with students who have families of mixed immigration status. 

St. Paul and Minneapolis Public Schools students can get in-person help by scheduling an appointment with Achieve Twin Cities or visiting a drop-in event at a local library. 

Both organizations will also provide FAFSA help at the Minnesota State Fair, helping to staff the Office of Higher Education’s booth in the Education building. 

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) – Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic had everything on lockdown…and farmers across the region were wondering what they could do to bring some excitement into the community.

“It was hard,” said Sam Ziegler. “Everybody was down, and it was…what can we do to think about how we are succeeding to make sure food gets to family’s tables, and where can we do it?”

Then, Celebration of Ag was born. Created by Green Seam, a nonprofit organization dedicated to growing southern Minnesota’s agriculture industry, it brought farmers together to celebrate what they’d accomplished.

The event was set at ISG Field, home of the Mankato Moondogs – and five years later, it continues to be a huge success.

“It’s really grown in attendance and support, and it’s fun to see everyone come out and support what we do, and what this means to the ag industry,” said Ryan Erickson with AgCo.

This year, the focus was on how much southern Minnesota’s agriculture has grown over the past year.

“We have lots of producers in our area – corn, soybeans, cover crops,” said Anne Johnson with Redwood Falls.

It wasn’t all good news – in Jackson, agriculture production has been severely impacted by recent flooding.

“The flooding has affected the farmers and the crop production, it’s affected the towns and the communities,” said Erickson.

But even the flooding couldn’t put a damper on how fast Minnesota’s agriculture industry has grown – and GreenSeam says it that trend will only continue.

“It’s a great sign of what we’ve started, but we have a lot of work to do,” said Ziegler. “Because of our soil, because of our weather, because of the business and innovation created here, I only see this continuing to grow.”

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – A stretch of road in St. Paul that closed in June due to flooding concerns is set to reopen on Wednesday. 

It’s been nearly a month since the banks of the Mississippi River overflowed in St. Paul, prompting officials to close some roads, parks and trails in the city. 

A three-mile stretch of Shepard Road and Warner Road on the north side of the river was closed to vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic on June 23. Now that water levels continue to improve, city officials say the roadways are set to open after 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Sibley and Jackson streets will also reopen for vehicle traffic from Shepard Road to Kellogg Boulevard.

The river levels crested in St. Paul at 20.17 feet, the eighth-highest record for the city, officials said. Since cresting nearly three weeks ago, the river has dropped almost 11 feet, and the water continues to recede.

However, Water Street on the other side of the river will remain shut down until inspection and cleanup are finished. Harriet Island also remains closed so crews can finish making repairs and prepare for a big event this weekend.

The overall drying trend is helping organizers prepare for the inaugural Minnesota Yacht Club, a two-day music festival this Friday and Saturday featuring big names like Gwen Stefani, Alanis Morissette, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Meanwhile, drivers in the southwest metro are still dealing with the impacts of high water levels. The Highway 41 Bridge between downtown Chaska and Highway 169 has been closed since June 20 due to flooding from the Minnesota River.   

The water level at Shakopee has dropped more than 13 feet since the near-historic crest and just dipped below flood stage on Tuesday. With the receding water, crews are planning to reopen the crossing on Monday.