Number of student aid applicants in the U.S. 2006-2022
In the 2021/22 application cycle, around 17.53 million applicants submitted a free application for federal student aid (FAFSA), a significant increase on the 14.04 million applications during the 2006/07 application cycle. However, this is a decrease from the peak of 21.95 million applicants in the 2011/12 application cycle.