Untapped Opportunities: Boosting Financial Aid Uptake for Californians of All Ages

While California has made strides in supporting financial aid application submission, too many students are not applying for and receiving critical dollars for which they qualify, such as the federal Pell Grant. Our new analysis finds that about 137,000 CA Community College students who were likely eligible for Pell but did not apply could’ve accessed up to $534 million in Pell funds in the 2019-2020 academic year.  

The report explores who these students are, strategies for increasing aid application completion, and recommendations for policymakers to ensure students can access the financial aid for which they qualify.  

TICAS extends our thanks to Allison Beer, Catherine Brown, Jessica Deitchman, Denise Luna, and Jessica Moldoff for their feedback during the creation of this report. The views presented in this report represent those of TICAS and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of reviewers.