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The Persistence Gap

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, FAFSA completion rates at community colleges still lag behind those at UC and CSU campuses, even after recent policy changes led to increased completion rates across all segments. The 2025 Public Policy Institute of California report states that after California started requiring high schools to ensure seniors complete a financial aid application, the class of 2023, compared with the class of 2022, first-generation students experienced larger gains in FAFSA completion – (19%) compared to their peers (16%) – yet this figure also suggests just how far behind they were to begin with.  

Financial aid equity is not the only area where gaps are present. More troublingly, research from EAB reveals a dropout rate of 33% for first-generation college students within three years, compared to just 14% of continuing-generation students. 

These figures do not suggest failures of individual motivation. Instead, they show that first-generation students are constantly expected to succeed in environments that offer them less guidance, less support, and far more structural disadvantages. As one NASFAA report noted, first-generation students are actually much more likely to use financial aid services than continuing-generation students, 65% compared to 49%. The problem is that simply using these services does not always mean successfully navigating them. “When we think about first-generation students struggling with affordability, it starts with that access piece,” said Terrell Williams of NASPA's Center for First Generation Success. "How do we understand what our award letter is even talking about? Who's guiding us through the tuition cost, versus the amount of aid that I'm receiving?"

Challenges Accessing Financial Aid

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the gateway to billions of dollars in financial support, as it is required to determine eligibility for financial aid. The form asks questions that assume traditional financial assumptions that do not apply to many families. A student who can't get financial information from an absent or uncooperative parent may simply abandon the form rather than navigate a bureaucratic process that assumes cooperative family relationships. According to a 2019 Consumer Reports, among applicants selected for verification, a process triggered disproportionately by the kinds of errors these situations invite, 25% dropped out of finishing the required paperwork, up from 13% just four years earlier. The current form filters out these students, ultimately leaving them at a disadvantage.

Although California has taken meaningful steps to expand FAFSA completion, too many students are still excluded by systems that were not built around the daily realities and needs of those trying to access higher education.

What Real Support Looks Like 

Thankfully, the solutions aren’t all that mysterious. They just require political will and institutional commitment. 

First, California should mandate that one-on-one support be provided for every community college student when they complete FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA). Through this individualized guidance, fewer students miss out on aid they are eligible for based on their circumstances. Moreover, financial aid offices should be staffed with counselors who speak the languages of the communities they serve, who understand the realities of non-traditional income, and who can walk students through the entire process from start to finish. 

Some campuses are already providing these services. But “some” isn’t good enough. Every student at every California community college deserves this support, regardless of which campus they happen to attend.

Where and How Does Support Come In?