In February and March 2024, ScholarshipOwl conducted a survey to help us to gain a deeper understanding of how the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has impacted Gen Z students. Media outlets have reported on a number of issues with the rollout of the new FAFSA that have resulted in delays with students submitting the FAFSA, as well as delays with students receiving financial aid offers from colleges. According to the National College Attainment Network’s FAFSA Tracker, just 34% of this year’s high school seniors had submitted the new FAFSA as of March 22, 202 ..read more

Every month, ScholarshipOwl conducts surveys to help us to gain a deeper understanding of Gen Z, especially regarding their readiness for college. Given the current economic conditions, we decided to focus last month’s survey on students’ ability to afford college in the coming school year. We had anticipated that the majority of students would not yet have the funds needed, but we were stunned to learn that over half (56%) of the students said that they have not yet secured any funds at all from scholarships, federal or state grants, income from a job, personal savings or funds from family fo ..read more

Most students know that the way to apply for federal student aid is through the FAFSA – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. But if you have filed the FAFSA in previous years, it is important to know that the FAFSA is changing. Some of the changes are fairly minor, and have already implemented in the last couple of years – but the FAFSA that will be opening soon will be very different from the previous FAFSA. Many of the changes are positive, especially for students with significant financial need; however, middle-income students may find that the changes reduce their opportunity to ..read more

ScholarshipOwl conducts monthly surveys to help us to gain deeper insight into Gen Z’s perspectives about college, scholarships, financial aid, and their future. In November, we asked students about what they’ve learned about student loans from their parents to gauge how that may have impacted the students’ decisions about whether or not to take on student debt. While 83% of respondents indicated that their parents have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of student loans, the overwhelming majority of respondents still will graduate with student debt. What stood out the most was that 88 ..read more

ScholarshipOwl conducts a survey every month to gain deeper insight about Gen Z students. In September, we asked students about their familiarity with the Biden Administration’s newest income-driven student loan repayment plan, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. Despite robust efforts to promote the plan via social media, unfortunately just 46% of the survey respondents indicated they were familiar with the plan.     Who participated in the survey? In September 2023, ScholarshipOwl surveyed high school and college students on the ScholarshipOwl scholarship platform to l ..read more

ScholarshipOwl conducts a survey every month to more deeply understand what Gen Z students care about. In August, we asked students about their experience with artificial intelligence (AI), and how they see the future of AI when it comes to scholarships. We were impressed to see that 96% of respondents are interested in leveraging AI to assist them in the scholarship search and application process.     Who participated in the survey? In August 2023, ScholarshipOwl surveyed high school and college students on the ScholarshipOwl scholarship platform to learn more about their experienc ..read more

Every month,  ScholarshipOwl conducts a survey to develop greater understanding about what Gen Z students care about. In July, we asked students about the impact of the current economic conditions on their plans for the back-to-school shopping season. Unfortunately, our results show that the overwhelming majority (82%) of respondents are concerned that they won’t have enough funds to afford back-to-school necessities.  Who participated in the survey? In July 2023, ScholarshipOwl surveyed over 10,500 high school and college students on the ScholarshipOwl scholarship platform to learn ..read more

ScholarshipOwl conducts a monthly survey to better understand the priorities and interests of Gen Z students. In June, we investigated whether or not Gen Z students have the funds needed to pay for costs associated with the upcoming Fall term, including tuition, room and board, books and supplies, etc. Unfortunately, our results show that the overwhelming majority (92%) of respondents are concerned that they won’t have enough funds to pay for the Fall term. Who participated in the survey? In June 2023, ScholarshipOwl surveyed over 9,300 high school and college students on the ScholarshipOwl s ..read more

Last week, the Supreme Court made a momentous decision impacting both students and student loan borrowers.  The Supreme Court struck down the Biden Administration’s student debt forgiveness plan in Biden v. Nebraska, concluding that the Secretary of Education does not have authority under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act) to establish a student loan forgiveness program. The Biden Administration’s student debt forgiveness plan was expected to provide debt relief of $10,000 to $20,000 for over 40 million of student loan borrowers, and many of th ..read more

ScholarshipOwl conducts a survey each month to develop a deeper understanding of Gen Z. In May, we continued our recent deep-dive into the impact of student debt by asking students about how their student loans will affect their future after they graduate college. Who participated in the survey? In May 2023, ScholarshipOwl surveyed over 10,000 high school and college students on the ScholarshipOwl scholarship platform to learn how prepared they are for the resumption of student loan payments, which will begin 60 days after June 30, 2023. We were particularly interested in finding out how stude ..read more