The number of students applying for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is far lower than previous years, and experts say many students are opting out en masse after the Department of Education's chaotic implementation of the new system. I am concerned that this may be the case.
Approximately 5.7 million students have applied for the FAFSA, a fraction of the 17 million average at this point in the cycle.
It will still take some time for the numbers to increase, but advocates are skeptical and blame delays and confusion during the release of this year's revised form.
“Because the FAFSA was available much later than usual and there were so many issues that needed to be resolved at the beginning of the process, people who would normally have filed the FAFSA earlier Some may have decided to put the process on hold to wait until all of that is resolved and the work is completed and then come back to it,'' National Association of Students Public Policy said. and Karen McCarthy, vice president for federal relations. Financial Aid Administrator.
The worry is that “there will probably be some glitches, deployment delays, and limited availability when it first becomes available, all of which will turn some people off from completing the FAFSA altogether.” “I think he did it,” McCarthy said. “So I think it remains to be seen. I hope they can catch up to last year. I don't know if that's possible.”
The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) tracks FAFSA applications for high school seniors, excluding reapplicants. As of March 1, NCAN records show only 1.2 million high school seniors had submitted applications, a 34% decrease from the previous FAFSA cycle.
“We've pushed back the start line for students and families to submit and complete the FAFSA, but the finish line is in the same place, right?” Bill DeBaun, NCAN's Senior Director of Data and Strategic Initiatives He said: “With the fall semester scheduled to begin at the same time, we have a very limited window to provide students with the financial aid they need to enroll in higher education institutions.”
The debacle with the FAFSA system began when the Department of Education (DOE) failed to complete revised forms by October, the normal month in which they are available. The department filed the application in late December, meeting a last-minute deadline given by Congress to revise the FAFSA.
Previous applications were much longer and more complicated for students and families, and lawmakers wanted to simplify the process. The new form asks fewer questions and allows the DOE to retrieve her tax records from the IRS so the family doesn't have to search for that information.
However, after the new form finally went online, the application process was hit by technical issues.
The ministry was only able to make the application available for a limited time during the first few weeks. Once this issue was fixed and the application process became available full-time, the agency had to delay sending her FAFSA information to schools until March.
The government only started sending FAFSA data to schools last week, leaving students wondering when they will receive final aid offers from colleges and how long it will take to decide between schools. I have doubts.
A DOE spokesperson told The Hill that the agency is working to ensure applicants receive the maximum amount of aid they are eligible for.
“Delays and failures in implementing the FAFSA by the Department of Education have caused chaos for states, schools, and families,” Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the House Education Committee, said in a statement to The Hill. ” “Students understandably need financial stability before enrolling. Unfortunately, the full impact of these delays on enrollees will not be known until this fall. We will hold the ministry accountable.”
The difficult process led Republican lawmakers to ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate the issue, while Democrats sent a letter to the Education Department asking for details on how to ensure families are not affected by the delays. .
“All of these challenges and delays could result in some students, especially low-income students who are most dependent on federal aid, forgoing and missing out on post-secondary education,” Republican lawmakers wrote in the letter. mentioned in.
DeBaun said the end of June will be a key date in determining where this year's FAFSA filing numbers land.
“As the deadline approaches, students may realize, 'Oh, yeah, I really need to turn this in.' That could lead to fairly quick improvements for the fastest cycle. “There is,” he said.
But “there's a lot more” that can be done to catch up with those numbers, DeBaun added.
“Doing what we have been doing in the past will not be enough this FAFSA cycle if we are to deliver the results we need and stabilize or increase postsecondary enrollment.” he said.
He added that it is vital that families know the system is back on track, as many people are likely delaying filling out applications until the bumps in the road smooth out.
The next step in implementation is for the Department of Education to introduce the FAFSA to colleges. While those efforts will be stepped up this week, schools will have to work overtime to get offers to students in a reasonable time.
McCarthy said the hope is that “clean” records will be sent “so schools can actually access them and get them into their systems.”
While it is expected that there will be some issues with the data every year, McCarthy said the goal is that “schools can really start providing aid and their records are clean.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
