In a bid to streamline the federal student aid application process, a new online application for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) went live this week. However, technical glitches have hindered access for some users, causing concern and frustration among students and parents.
Simea Turner of Arlington, Texas, a prospective college freshman, expressed her nervousness, stating, “I’m nervous because I really need this money.” Turner, a first-time FAFSA applicant, has been attempting to access the application since Sunday but has been unable to progress beyond the first question.
The FAFSA, which traditionally opens in October, experienced a three-month delay due to the launch of the new application. The Department of Education, a few days before the scheduled launch, announced a soft launch that would persist until all bugs were fixed.
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As of 6:30 pm Thursday, the department reported receiving over half a million successful submissions. Despite this, not all users have had a smooth experience. Nancy Dunn of Seven Hills, Ohio, shared her frustration after intermittent availability. Dunn, whose daughter attends Kenyon College, described the experience as akin to beta testing, complicating communication between financial aid advisors and students.
Helen Faith, Director of the Office of Financial Aid at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, highlighted the challenges in advising students due to the inconsistent functionality of the new application. This year's delays mean colleges won't receive FAFSA information until the end of January at the earliest, disrupting the usual timeline for notifying students about financial aid.
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The Department of Education initially did not specify the application's availability duration but later announced on social media that it would be open Thursday and Friday from 8 am to 8 pm.
Social media has become a platform for users to share their experiences and frustrations using the hashtag #fafsa. High school senior Manal Ahmed Ali from Chicago, Illinois, expressed relief in discovering that others faced similar issues, stating, "It made me feel a bit better knowing that it wasn’t a problem just on my end.”
University of Houston student Medha Kukkalli opted to wait before submitting the application, expressing concern about potential crashes or additional changes. Katherine Beeman, a Louisiana middle school teacher, shared her struggle with accessing the application at least 20 times, emphasizing the urgency of planning ahead for her daughter's sophomore year expenses.
To address the anxiety that Beeman and many others are feeling, Faith recommends that people avoid rushing to access the application. Since this year’s timeline has changed, financial aid offices from colleges won’t be receiving students’ information until the end of January anyway.
“Folks may want to go have a reminder on their calendar to check back in a few days rather than to try to get it right away,” she said. “They won’t be hurt and won’t be penalized for waiting a week or two or three into January to get that done.”
Dunn said the FAFSA process reminded her of Ticketmaster’s issues with concert tickets earlier this year. However, unlike getting tickets to see Taylor Swift, she said, everyone should get access to the FAFSA.
