With many seniors applying to college and waiting to hear back for final decisions during this time, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) plays a critical role in decision making in this process. However this year, because of new revisions being made to the form, it caused a huge delay in the rollout of financial aid packages from FAFSA, school counselor Adrian Hernandez said.
With the redesigning of the form, mostly to make it simpler, they released the form a lot later than previous years, Hernandez said. Previously, the FAFSA was sent out in October, but this year they changed it to December, he added.
“In late December, they were supposed to do a soft launch, but it had so many technician issues and it had so many glitches, which made it even further complicated,” Hernandez said. “There was not only initially the three month delay for its opening, but students had issues with it in the month of January.”
The hardest part of the form wasn’t only the technical issues, but the amount of information that his dad had to put in, senior Terence Moncada said.
“It’s pretty quick for me, but for the parents, my dad having to fill out his personal information, that’s what took me the longest and why we couldn’t submit it faster,” Moncada said.
The delayed rollout of the FAFSA did not only impact students’ choices in college, but also impacted when colleges would send out financial aid packages to students and delayed the date to make decisions, Hernandez said.
“Typically, CSU (California State University) campuses would determinate offers by March and then ask students to declare their interest to a campus by May 1,” Hernandez said. “Most campuses are moving away from the popular May 1 deadline.”
The amount of technical issues in the form has led to decreased confidence in submitting the form, Hernandez said. Especially with vulnerable populations, like those whose parents are undocumented, submitting financial information is difficult, he added.
“In addition to everything being delayed and having to stay on top of (submitting personal information), some students may end up turning to community college just because of all the delays and lack of confidence in the system,” Hernandez said.
While many students have been able to complete the form, some of the issues are actually in terms of submitting the form, Hernandez said.
“What I’ve been seeing from students is that they’re so frustrated,” Hernandez said. “They’ve submitted applications, three, four times in the very beginning just to actually get onto the system with oftentimes not being able to actually get any confirmation that they did (submit an application),” he added.
However, this form is not one of the major factors he is relying on to make college decisions, senior Sukhad Mutatkar said.
“Even though the FAFSA was late, I think due to being a younger sibling, it was a streamlined and easier process,” Mutatkar said. “I am not relying on it for my college education, since I am most likely staying in state.”
Overall this delay has caused a lot of panic within households, schools, and even at colleges, Hernandez said.
“It’s a complicated process of applying for families,” Hernandez said. “Students are left in limbo and they’re frustrated and overwhelmed, we just have to support them the best we can.”
FAFSA delays, technical issues cause challenges for college-bound seniors
