Washington state makes significant investments in programs like the Washington College Grant so that education and training beyond high school are affordable. In fact, Washington has one of the more generous state aid programs in the country. Yet the state is historically toward the bottom of national rankings for completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). When eligible students fail to apply, federal aid and substantial amounts of state aid are left unused.

Financial Aid Matters for Enrollment

According to the National College Attainment Network, 92 percent of high school seniors who complete the FAFSA enroll in postsecondary in the fall after they graduate from high school. In contrast, only about 51 percent of those who do not complete the FAFSA do the same.

Research shows that financial aid can change who goes to college. In one randomized study, students who received help completing the FAFSA were more likely to complete the form, receive aid, and enroll in a postsecondary program. A later study found that providing clearer information about college prices changed the decisions of low-income students.

92% of high school seniors who complete the FAFSA enroll in postsecondary in the fall after they graduate from high school.

Making Progress on FAFSA and WASFA Submissions

The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) reports consistent annual increases in FAFSA completion rates over the past three years, with a 4-percentage point increase in the number of high school seniors completing the FAFSA during the 2025-2026 academic year over the previous year, to a high of 51 percent. Despite this increase, the state still ranks 47th nationally in FAFSA completion. The Washington Completes FAFSA Campaign aims to increase the number of high school seniors completing the FAFSA or the Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA).

The Limitless Learning Network has contributed to this effort. Collectively, the 26 Limitless partnerships have a 2025-2026 academic year FAFSA completion rate of 54.5 percent. At our regular convenings, network members learn about evidence-informed approaches to increase enrollment through financial aid practices and quality advising, which they then test in their own communities.

The Next Gap: The Offer Letter

A student who completes the FAFSA or WASFA eventually receives a financial aid offer letter from each college that admits them, explaining in detail what the college will cost. More completed financial aid applications mean more students receive aid offer letters. As the pool of recipients widens, it is increasingly critical that these letters are written in accessible ways.

Research suggests that financial aid offer letters are challenging to comprehend. In 2018, New America and uAspire analyzed about 11,000 offer letters received by the high school graduating class of 2016, examining 515 letters in detail. Seventy percent of the letters grouped all aid together without explaining how grants differ from loans. Only 40 percent calculated a net price, and those letters used 23 different methods. The letters used 136 different names for the federal unsubsidized loan.

Confusing letters abound to this day. In 2025, uAspire reviewed 211 financial aid offer letters and found that cost calculations remain a problem. Across the 211 offers, uAspire counted 11 different formulas for the amount a student would owe, and 10 percent of offers used three or more cost calculations. Some colleges applied the label “net cost” to different formulas, which makes it hard for students to compare offers.

Washington has recognized the problem; in 2020, the Legislature directed WSAC to develop consistent terminology and a standard template for financial aid offers. The Council issued guidance in 2023 that sets common terms and expectations, acknowledging that colleges still deliver offers in different formats.

What We Are Learning in Washington

Through the Limitless Postsecondary Collaboration Lab, Education Northwest is collecting and coding de-identified offer letters from Washington colleges. Our partners in this effort include colleges, high schools, districts, community-based organizations, state agencies, and advocacy groups. We code each letter in six areas: how cost of attendance appears, terminology, how aid types are separated, whether the bottom-line cost is calculated, whether next steps are clear, and format and accessibility.

In the first batch of letters, we found that cost of attendance was presented inconsistently or missing, leaving students to work out their own net price. Grants and loans were often not clearly distinguished. Loan terms such as subsidized and unsubsidized were explained differently. Contact information and next steps were often missing. The clearest letters balanced completeness with brevity, while the weakest were either too sparse to be useful or too long and overwhelming. Even experienced college advisors found some letters to be confusing.

Even experienced college advisors found some letters to be confusing.

How You Can Help

We need more letters to complete a robust analysis.

If you are a counselor, advisor, or community partner in Washington, you can help! Ask your local financial aid office whether they have contributed to our study and, if not, help us connect with them. Let us know if you would like to be involved in analysis or discussing preliminary findings—we would love to have your help!

If you work at a Washington college, consider sharing three to five offer letters from the most recent financial aid cycle, in PDF or Word format, with student information removed (that includes names, addresses, ID numbers, and dates of birth). Letters can be sent to Limitless. See our Help Improve Financial Aid Award and Financial Aid Award Letter Toolkit for more information.

Importantly, this is not an evaluation of any specific institution. We will share our findings in aggregate, and we will not identify any college without its permission. Participating colleges will receive a summary of findings, examples of student-centered practice, and a chance to discuss the results with peers.

Please join us in this effort to help make financial aid offers clear and readable for all Washington students.

Leanne Davis is a managing researcher focused on postsecondary access and success. She works at the intersection of research, policy, and practice, with an emphasis on addressing issues of access and equity during transitions in the educational pipeline and exploring how policies and practices help or hinder a student’s ability to complete a postsecondary credential.