PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

After COVID-19 hit, federal financial aid applications dropped sharply among first-year students

2021-02-10
(Press-News.org) Washington, February 10, 2021--After the COVID-19 crisis hit last March, federal student aid applications among potential college freshmen in California dropped 14 percent between mid-March and mid-August, relative to prior years. While there were also initial declines in applications among current undergraduates and graduate students, these quickly recovered and ended 8 percent higher relative to prior years. The findings, published today in Educational Researcher, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association, are from the first academic study conducted on this topic.

Using data from the California Student Aid Commission and the American Community Survey, study authors Oded Gurantz and Christopher Wielga, both at the University of Missouri, compared trends in the total volume and characteristics of submissions of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) across California from mid-March through mid-August 2020, relative to three prior submission cycles, and analyzed individuals' background information to identify neighborhood income and ethnic characteristics.

The authors found a 21 percent decline in submissions among incoming first-year undergraduates with no prior college experience and a 7 percent decline among those with some prior experience. Increases in submissions among continuing students were directly tied to grade level, being the smallest for incoming sophomores (1.9 percent) and largest for students entering graduate programs (34.1 percent).

"COVID is tough and it makes sense that it may make potential first-year students feel they can't go to college, due to either overwhelming commitments or an understandable judgment that online education may not suit them in the short-term," said Gurantz, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri. "But we know that short-term stop-outs often harm long-term outcomes, and in the long run it's important that these students earn their degrees."

The authors noted that their findings parallel enrollment figures reported by the National Student Clearinghouse last fall that showed a decline in 2020 undergraduate enrollments nationally, and in California, driven by first-time students. The clearinghouse also found that the deepest enrollment drops were at two-year institutions--the type of institution chosen by most students who submitted FAFSAs during March through August in prior years, according to Gurantz.

When comparing neighborhood characteristics for FAFSA filers, Gurantz and Wielga found a 5 percent drop in applications from zip codes in the top third in terms of percentage of Black and Hispanic residents. In contrast, neighborhoods in the middle third for Black and Hispanic residents saw applications rise 4 percent. Neighborhoods in the lowest third for Black and Hispanic residents saw applications rise 10 percent.

Gurantz and Wielga found similar results with year-over-year declines in low-income zip codes and increases in high-income zip codes.

"Our results paint a bleak portrait, suggesting that without immediate investments in outreach and support, traditionally underrepresented students will be less likely to attend college and more likely to take on debt," Gurantz said. "More outreach is needed to make sure that missing students find their way to college, and that current students who are struggling get the support they need."

"The turmoil and economic uncertainty of the pandemic are creating substantial barriers to college entry, and the trend in FAFSA applications is likely to exacerbate enrollment gaps by income, race, and ethnicity," said Gurantz.

According to the authors, states could help increase FAFSA submissions by improving their early outreach to students, providing reminders, and flagging students who have not submitted by a specific date. The authors also suggest the federal government could consider simplifying the FAFSA process, reducing the number of individuals who are asked to verify their income through additional documentation after they submit their applications, or simplifying the appeals process. Extending deadlines for FAFSA submissions and college applications could also help to facilitate greater access. In January, the Education Department issued guidance to college financial aid administrators encouraging them to exercise their professional judgment to adjust financial aid eligibility based on a student's special circumstances.

"Providing additional funding to community colleges, which are experiencing the largest downturns in enrollment, may also be necessary," Gurantz said. "These institutions will be central to promoting the kinds of programs and resources needed to ensure that more of these missing students are successful over the coming years, should they choose to return."

INFORMATION:

Study citation: Gurantz, O., & Wielga, C. (2021). How have FAFSA submissions differed during COVID-19? Educational Researcher. Prepublished February 10, 2021. http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X21992059

About AERA The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New study identifies top-performing point-of-care COVID-19 tests

2021-02-10
ANN ARBOR, Mich. and VANCOUVER, B.C. (February 10, 2021) - After screening more than 1,100 independently assessed, point-of-care COVID-19 tests, researchers at NSF International and Novateur Ventures have identified 5 direct (antigen/RNA) tests for detection of acute infection and 6 indirect (antibody) tests for detection of prior infection that meet the recently published World Health Organization (WHO) "desirable" Target Product Profile (TPP) criteria. The researchers hope their work will help communities and healthcare systems make more informed decisions when choosing rapid, point-of-care COVID-19 ...

Depressed moms who breastfeed boost babies' mood, neuroprotection and mutual touch

Depressed moms who breastfeed boost babies mood, neuroprotection and mutual touch
2021-02-10
About 1 in 9 mothers suffers from maternal depression, which can affect the mother-infant bond as well as infant development. Touch plays an important role in an infant's socio-emotional development. Mothers who are depressed are less likely to provide their babies with soothing touch, less able to detect changes in facial expressions, and more likely to have trouble regulating their own emotions. In addition, infants of depressed mothers exhibit similar brain functioning patterns as their depressed mothers, which also are linked to temperament characteristics. Infants of depressed mothers are at a high risk of atypical and ...

Genetic markers show Pacific albacore intermingle across equator

Genetic markers show Pacific albacore intermingle across equator
2021-02-10
NEWPORT, Ore. - Analyzing thousands of genetic markers in albacore tuna from the Pacific Ocean, researchers at Oregon State University have learned that just seven dozen of those markers are needed to determine which side of the equator a fish comes from. The scientists also discovered that fish from different hemispheres intermingle and sometimes breed with each other. Published Tuesday in Evolutionary Applications, the findings are an important step toward better understanding the population structure of a species that's a vital and inexpensive source of protein for people around the globe. Albacore in the North and South Pacific Oceans are currently managed as separate ...

White contours induce red hue

White contours induce red hue
2021-02-10
Overview: A color illusion that strongly induces color contrast effect has been found by a research team at the Toyohashi University of Technology Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and Electronics-Inspired Interdisciplinary Research Institute (EIIRIS). The powerful visual illusion clarified a century-old contradiction relating to simultaneous color contrast theory. Through a human psychophysical experiment, the team demonstrated that the presence or absence of flanking contours formed from extremely thin white lines could be used to switch between contradictory visual phenomena (Figure 1), enabling consistent explanation for both discrepant ...

Cell-selective nanotherapy prevents post-angioplasty restenosis, promotes artery healing

Cell-selective nanotherapy prevents post-angioplasty restenosis, promotes artery healing
2021-02-10
Tampa, FL (Feb. 10, 2021) - Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), commonly known as angioplasty with a stent, opens clogged arteries and saves lives. Despite its benefit in treating atherosclerosis that causes coronary artery disease, this common minimally-invasive procedure still poses severe complications for some patients. Angioplasty involves inflating a balloon at the tip of a catheter to compress fatty deposits (plaques) against the artery wall, thereby restoring blood flow to the narrowed or blocked vessels. The image-guided procedure is often combined with the placement of either uncoated stents -- tiny expandable mesh devices- or stents coated with slowly-released antiproliferative ...

Where and when is economic decision-making represented in the brain?

2021-02-10
Tsukuba, Japan -- Economists have been using game theory to study decision-making since the 1950s. More recently, the interdisciplinary field of neuroeconomics has gained popularity as scientists try to understand how economic decisions are made in the brain. Researchers led by Professor Masayuki Matsumoto and Assistant Professor Hiroshi Yamada at the University of Tsukuba in Japan studied populations of neurons across the monkey brain reward network to find out where and when expected value is calculated. The team trained monkeys to perform a lottery task for a reward. The monkeys saw two pie charts on a computer screen. The colors in the charts told the monkeys the size of the reward and the probability of getting it. ...

Black carbon aerosols in Beijing become "slim"

Black carbon aerosols in Beijing become slim
2021-02-10
Black carbon (BC) is the product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass. By strongly absorbing solar radiation, BC can heat the atmosphere, affect its stability, and further deteriorate air quality. The climatic and environmental effects of BC are determined by its loading in the atmosphere. Scientists find that microphysical characteristics of BC, such as particle size and mixing state, can also influence these effects. The team pointed out that the reduction of the thickly coated BC would further lead to a decline of solar radiation absorption by atmospheric aerosols, besides the decline resulting from the BC loading ...

Pooping out miracles: scientists reveal mechanism behind fecal microbiota transplantation

Pooping out miracles: scientists reveal mechanism behind fecal microbiota transplantation
2021-02-10
Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI) occurs in the gut and is caused by the Gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium, C. difficile when its spores attach to fecal matter and are transferred from hand to mouth by health care workers. Patients undergoing antibiotic treatment are especially susceptible as the microorganisms that maintain a healthy gut are greatly damaged by the antibiotics. Treatment of rCDI involves withdrawing the causative antibiotics and initiating antibiotic therapy, although this can be very challenging. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is considered an effective alternative therapy as it addresses the issue from the ground up by replacing the damaged microflora with a healthy one through a stool transplant. However, two deaths caused by antibiotic-resistant ...

Novel analytical tools developed by SMART key to next-generation agriculture

Novel analytical tools developed by SMART key to next-generation agriculture
2021-02-10
Plant nanosensors and Raman spectroscopy are two emerging analytical technologies and tools to study plants and monitor plant health, enabling research opportunities in plant science that have so far been difficult to achieve with conventional technologies such as genetic engineering techniques The species-independent analytical tools are rapid and non-destructive, overcoming current limitations and providing a wealth of real-time information, such as early plant stress detection and hormonal signalling, that are important to plant growth and yield ...

Time perception and sense of touch: a new connection

Time perception and sense of touch: a new connection
2021-02-10
The percept of time relates to the sense of touch. A new SISSA study "A sensory integration account for time perception" published in PLOS Computational Biology uncovers this connection. "The challenge to neuroscience posed by the sense of time lies, first and foremost, in the fact there do not exist dedicated receptors - the passage of time is a sensory experience constructed without sensors," notes Mathew Diamond, director of the Tactile Perception and Learning Lab. "One might imagine a precise clock in the brain, a sort of stopwatch that registers the start and stop and computes the elapsed ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Explaining science through dance

Pioneering neuroendocrinologist's century of discovery launches major scientific tribute series

Gendered bilingualism in post-colonial Korea

Structural safety monitoring of buildings with color variations

Bio-based fibers could pose greater threat to the environment than conventional plastics

Bacteria breakthrough could accelerate mosquito control schemes

Argonne to help drive AI revolution in astronomy with new institute led by Northwestern University

Medicaid funding for addiction treatment hasn’t curbed overdose deaths

UVA co-leads $2.9 million NIH investigation into where systems may fail people with disabilities

With the help of AI, UC Berkeley researchers confirm Hollywood is getting more diverse

Weight loss interventions associated with improvements in several symptoms of PCOS

Federal government may be overpaying for veterans’ health care in Medicare Advantage plans

Researchers awarded $2.5 million grant to increase lung cancer screenings in underserved communities

New trigger proposed for record-smashing 2022 Tonga eruption

Lupus Research Alliance announces Lupus Research Highlights at ACR Convergence 2024

Satellite imagery may help protect coastal forests from climate change

The secrets of baseball's magic mud

Toddlers understand concept of possibility

Small reductions to meat production in wealthier countries may help fight climate change, new analysis concludes

Scientists determine why some patients don’t respond well to wet macular degeneration treatment, show how new experimental drug can bridge gap

Did the world's best-preserved dinosaurs really die in 'Pompeii-type' events?

Not the usual suspects: Novel genetic basis of pest resistance to biotech crops

Jill Tarter to receive Inaugural Tarter Award for Innovation in the search for life beyond earth

Survey finds continued declines in HIV clinician workforce

Researchers home in on tumor vulnerabilities to improve odds of treating glioblastoma

Awareness of lung cancer screening remains low

Hospital COVID-19 burden and adverse event rates

NSF NOIRLab astronomers discover the fastest-feeding black hole in the early universe

Translational science reviews—a new JAMA review

How the keto diet could one day treat autoimmune disorders

[Press-News.org] After COVID-19 hit, federal financial aid applications dropped sharply among first-year students