Financial Aid Applications Are Down. Does That Mean Fewer College Students?

Amid the pandemic, FAFSA applications are down 9% overall and even more among low-income students and students of color. CCRC Senior Research Scholar Elisabeth Barnett told Marketplace that pandemic-related job losses not only hurt prospective students' economic outlook but also take a mental toll that makes it harder to plan for the future and fill out a complicated form like the FAFSA.