Abstract

Rural students historically have attended college at lower rates than their suburban and urban counterparts, and previous research has shown that uneven access to financial, social, and cultural capital contributes to lower college enrollment. To further complicate college access, the FAFSA overhaul in the 2024–2025 cycle was rife with problems, and it is not clear which students and communities were most acutely affected. Using Iowa as a case study, this article examines how rurality is associated with FAFSA completion across public high schools immediately before and during the FAFSA overhaul. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses show that rural Iowa public high schools were associated with higher FAFSA completion rates than public high schools situated in other locales. After controlling for school characteristics—including free or reduced-price lunch enrollment, an interaction term for locale and free or reduced-price lunch enrollment, graduation rate, the percentage of students proficient in math and English, total high school enrollment, and race—an increase in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch was associated with a steeper decline in FAFSA completion rates in suburban schools compared to rural schools. This study offers further insights into the landscape of resource allocation across the urban-rural continuum.

Keywords: rural, FAFSA, financial aid

How to Cite:

Haines, S. M., (2026) “The Landscape of Financial Aid Access in Iowa: An Examination of FAFSA Completion Rates Across the Urban-Rural Continuum”, Journal of Research in Rural Education 42(4), 1-16. doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/jrre.20784