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How The New College Aid Form Flopped
A bad rollout means students and parents have hit a wall .
By Jennifer Lea Reed
HIGHER EDUCATION HAS GOTTEN A lot of bad publicity lately . This spring , TV cameras captured on-campus clashes across the United States as students protesting Israel ’ s bombing of Gaza faced off against police , and college administrators tried to balance the students ’ right to free speech with the need to maintain order and safety . The clashes turned violent , and more than 2,600 students were arrested , according to a May 10 Associated Press report . Many of them face suspension or expulsion .
The disruption on campus has overshadowed another crisis of equal significance playing out among the parents of next year ’ s freshmen — the devastatingly flawed rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid , or FAFSA . The new form has been an appalling flop , with a slow rollout , technical problems and then a big delay in processing that has held up students ’ aid packages .
Mark Kantrowitz , a Skokie , Ill ., college planning expert and author says , “ It ’ s worse than what happened during the pandemic .” Robin Stacey House , the founder of Our House Wealth Advisors in Chicago , says , “ It ’ s the worst admission season I ’ ve ever seen .”
That ’ s created even more excruciating stress for college-bound students and their families — and it ’ s expected to derail the plans of a significant percentage of college hopefuls , says Kantrowitz , many perhaps permanently . As of early May , the number of FAFSA forms completed was more than 20 % lower than it was a year ago , according to the National College Attainment Network ’ s FAFSA Tracker .
According to Joseph Bogardus , a CFP at Barnum Financial
Group ’ s Center for College Planning in Shelton , Conn ., “ The college crisis right now is a bigger issue than just the campus protests . Columbia is still going to attract students , and in two years , once this blows over , their enrollment will still be their enrollment .
“ The bigger issue is the combination of government and technology ,” he continues . “ The two are like oil and vinegar .”
The new online FAFSA started late out of the gate . It was scheduled for October 1 , but was actually available for the first time on December 31 — and then only for 30 minutes , Kantrowitz says . That was just the beginning .
“ The U . S . Department of Education was building the plane as they flew it to the destination , crashing it multiple times along the way ,” he says . “ And they called it a soft launch , which meant they were accepting the form submissions , but not processing them .”
Many colleges set May 1 , 2024 , as the deadline for accepted students to commit to enrollment this fall . But when that day arrived , many students knew only half of their financials , since only their merit aid for academic , athletic or musical scholarships was included in their acceptance letter . The other half — the financial aid — was and still is missing , so parents and students have no idea how much they ’ re going to have to borrow .
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