Indiana students lose out on $70M annually in college grants. This bill could help

Cate Charron

With Indiana’s college attendance rates dropping to the lowest in recent memory, state lawmakers are looking at a way to connect more high school seniors with federal aid, including $70 million in grants left on the table every year.

Senate Bill 167, authored by Sens. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, and Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, would mandate Indiana students and their parents to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid by April 15 of their senior year. Applying isn't mandatory at this point, and lawmakers worry students are missing out on the opportunity for certain grants and scholarships, in addition to low-interest loans.

The Indiana schools with the lowest application rates often are those with the highest need, said Josh Garrison of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

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The Senate passed the bill 43-3 in late February. After a hearing Wednesday, the House Education Committee will likely vote on the bill next week.

Leising and other bill advocates say almost $70 million of federal grants each year have been left on the table as a result of the state’s low application rate, which could be the difference in whether a student goes to attend college. Indiana currently sits at 35% for the current filing period with just over a month left until the deadline.

Sen. Jean Leising talks to fellow members of the Indiana State Senate on the last day of legislative session Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at the Statehouse in Indianapolis.

A high-need student could receive as much as $6,800 in grants in addition to a low-interest federal loan and other potential university scholarships. Some middle- and upper-class families also may not realize their student is eligible for scholarships and other opportunities, Leising said.

Opponents worry about whether making students apply for such federal aid would place too much stress on counselors and administrators to implement. Indiana’s average counselor-to-student ratio is one of the highest in the nation at 694 to 1, according to the American School Counselor Association.

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This bill has worked its way through the Indiana General Assembly several times without success in part due to those concerns. This year’s version contains more flexibility for parents to opt out and for schools to handle unresponsive parents. Additionally, students would not need to fill out the form to graduate.

“We've heard for several years in a row now a version of this legislation that has passed both houses of assembly with broad bipartisan support — just never the same year,” said Jason Bearce of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. “While this stalemate has lingered on, thousands of more Hoosier students have fallen through the cracks.”

Several states have adopted similar bills, including Louisiana and Texas. While filing rates reportedly surged for both states, it is unclear how it will impact college admissions.