More California high school seniors applied for college financial aid this year than last
Mikhail Zinshteyn
September 15, 2025
In summary
About 340,000 California students completed a financial aid application, up about 11% over last year.
Nearly three-quarters of California public high school seniors applied for federal financial aid this year, soaring past last year’s figures by 11% and giving further indication that California’s efforts to get more students to apply for federal grants are paying off.
This time last year about 307,000 high school seniors completed a financial aid application. This year, that number is around 340,000. The California Student Aid Commission that oversees college aid in the state released the information today.
In 2023 a slightly higher share of seniors completed aid applications — about 74% to this year’s 72.7%. In 2024, the figure was 64%.
