The Department of Education announced Tuesday that a fix is in the works for students who were unable to complete new federal financial aid applications because their parents did not have a Social Security number.
The Department for Education said a permanent fix is expected to be made in the first half of March, but there are workarounds in the meantime. By providing a filing date and asking someone who needs to fill out a portion of the application but does not have a Social Security number, students can ” You should complete the workaround steps only if you must meet the “Aid Deadline”. .
This process allows the form to be filled out, but the submission will be “incomplete” and will need to be “revised” later.
News of the workaround and permanent fix will come as a relief to students who are blocked from completing the Department of Education's simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for 2024-25. The process has been fraught with glitches since the DOE launched the new form in late 2023, three months later than usual, and this glitch hits one of the most vulnerable populations hardest. . “If you are a U.S. citizen, your parents’ immigration status should not be a barrier to receiving federal financial aid for higher education,” U.S. Representative Jared Huffman said in the release.
“It seems like we're hurting the people we're supposed to be helping to get financial aid or even more financial aid,” said Jack Wallace, a financial advisor at education consultant Illefee LLC.
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Universities support their own forms.Some colleges are offering students their own aid forms as FAFSA deferrals have led to family dissatisfaction
What is the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology doing?
- The Department of Education is proposing a workaround for students to submit incomplete FAFSAs before the filing issue is fully resolved next month. Detailed instructions will be sent to organizations assisting these students on Tuesday, and DOE plans to post instructions on StudentAid.gov in English and Spanish on Wednesday. Students can manually enter the poster's information without a social security number, submit the FAFSA, and make the correction later when the full correction is implemented and the correction feature will be available to them in the first half of March. You can go back and make corrections before submitting.
- To speed up this process and reduce the need for translation, DOE is expanding the number of call center staff to include Spanish speakers and allowing people to establish a StudentAid.gov account if they need assistance. We support.
- The Department of Education is also establishing a new targeted listserv for students and families in communities affected by these issues to sign up for regular FAFSA updates.
What are people saying about this fix?
The Department of Education estimates that around 2% of all applicants face this problem. Justin Drager, director of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) trade group, said he appreciates the Department of Education's efforts but said interim solutions should not stand in the way of the ultimate goal.
“While this temporary solution will be confusing and burdensome to many, it must not distract us from the need to get serious about permanent fixes,” Draeger said. Ta.
University advisers are pleased with the solution, but fear all the problems this year will prevent students from attending university.
“These issues are going to cause students to forgo going to college this fall or even going to college,” said Shannon Vasconcelos, Bright Horizons College Coach at childcare provider Bright Horizons. “If you can't fill out the FAFSA, you can't get the money you need to go to college. It's that simple. A lot of these students don't even know what the problem is. They… Simply put, vulnerable students are less likely to seek help when errors occur that don't make sense.
“Many people will give up mid-way if they have one obstacle after another thrown at them,” she says. “It is unfortunate that this ‘FAFSA simplification’ aimed at increasing access to education appears to be having the opposite effect.”
FAFSA official changes:Introducing the simpler FAFSA. But it doesn't necessarily make it easier to get money. Here's why:
Medora Lee is USA TODAY's money, markets and personal finance reporter. Please contact mjlee@usatoday.com. Subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.
