In 2020, Congress passed a bipartisan law designed to make financial aid more accessible to students. The legislation required changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which launched in 2023–24 amid many delays, errors and technical issues. These issues impacted students, families and higher education institutions nationwide. The number of high school students completing the FAFSA went down significantly. As colleges waited to receive student data from the Department of Education, students in turn waited for financial aid information from colleges, delaying their decision making. Our admission and financial aid team worked tirelessly to ensure that students and families felt supported during this frustrating time.
We prepared ourselves for the impact this might have on enrollment. As the numbers came in, however you sliced it—by region, state, or other demographic data—the number of moderately high- to high-need students who chose to come to K declined in 2024 after two consecutive years of increases, which seemed to point to the difficulties with this year’s FAFSA.
While the FAFSA situation was an unusual event, it underscores the fragility of the bridge between vulnerable student populations and their higher education goals. It is one of the reasons that we made support for student access and student success programs an important focus area of the Brighter Light Campaign. In the 2023–24 academic year, 29% of K’s first-year class were first-generation college students; 28% received Pell Grants. These talented, high-achieving students sometimes require specific support to navigate the complex higher education system or to overcome financial obstacles.
Our donors have stepped up, both through endowed funds and through contributions to the Kalamazoo College Fund. Some of you have mentioned your own experiences as first-generation students, or as students who attended K thanks to scholarships. You’ve talked about the ways your K education positively impacted not only your own lives, but the lives of your families, or the communities that you serve through your careers, your churches, your schools or your community organizations. The multiplier effect is amazing.
As we wrap up the Brighter Light Campaign, I want to thank you for your continued investments in K. Your generosity is already making a lasting difference in the lives of our students and helping to shape a stronger, brighter future for generations to come.
Saludos and lux esto,
Jorge G. Gonzalez
President
