Technical issues with the redesigned FAFSA form have caused a 9% drop in completions, leading many students to make difficult college choices with incomplete financial aid information.
Bollywood Fever: After a summer marred by technical glitches, many of America’s prospective college students finally submitted their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), but not without facing significant challenges. The redesigned FAFSA form, intended to simplify the process, instead led to a 9% decrease in completions compared to this time last year, according to the National College Attainment Network.
The completion rate had been down as much as 40% in the spring, when most students typically submit their forms to receive timely financial aid packages.
The delays and errors with the FAFSA system have left many students and families in a difficult position, forcing some to make college enrollment decisions with incomplete information about their financial aid.
Counselors and advisers are concerned that these issues could affect not only where students choose to attend college, but also whether they enroll at all.
One such student, Adjovi Golo from suburban Chicago, had her sights set on attending Spelman College, a historically Black women’s college in Atlanta.
However, due to ongoing FAFSA issues, her application wasn’t processed before the May 1 deadline to commit to a college.
Despite her desire to attend Spelman, Golo ultimately chose DePaul University in Chicago, where she had received a better merit scholarship offer.
Golo moved into DePaul’s dorms in August but still wonders what might have been different if her FAFSA had been processed on time.
“I felt like I was just backed into a corner,” Golo said. “A part of me, like 75% of me, doesn’t regret it. I love it here. But another part of me wishes I waited.”
The drop in FAFSA completion rates was particularly steep among students who already face significant barriers to higher education, such as low-income students and students of color.
Advocates worry that these delays, compounded by the Supreme Court’s recent ruling against affirmative action in higher education, could reduce racial and socioeconomic diversity in college enrollment.
In areas with higher poverty rates and larger Black and Latino populations, the decline in FAFSA completions was 20% greater than in higher-income areas, according to the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank.
These students were also twice as likely to submit incomplete FAFSAs, further complicating their access to financial aid.
The FAFSA process, which had been criticized as tedious and difficult, was supposed to be simplified by a 2020 law.
However, the launch of the new form in December 2023 was plagued by technical issues, leading to errors and hours-long waits for assistance.
Some students, like those assisted by Emmily Almaraz, a junior at Texas Christian University and intern with a college access organization, found themselves unable to complete the process due to verification issues, leading them to delay their college enrollment.
“It’s just really discouraging for certain kids that end up finding out that just because they’re missing one piece of information, it may delay them,” Almaraz said. “It may cause them to pay for an education that they can’t fully pay for.”
Housing became another hurdle for students whose families were reluctant to commit to deposits without knowing their financial aid status.
Some students admitted to four-year colleges have chosen more affordable two-year colleges closer to home, while others are considering delaying their enrollment altogether.
For students who don’t continue directly to college after high school, the likelihood of pursuing higher education later diminishes significantly.
Only four in 10 students who delay college for a year or more eventually complete a degree, according to Peter Granville, a fellow at the Century Foundation.
“After you decide to wait a year, that becomes more of a lonely journey,” Granville said. “That can hinder someone’s likelihood of ultimately completing a degree.”
Some students, like Golo, are still dealing with FAFSA issues even after enrolling. Golo filed a paper FAFSA in June to try to finalize her aid package at DePaul, but the agency processing the forms has a significant backlog. As a result, Golo remains uncertain about her financial future.
“I’m kind of just scared to take out money, knowing that I might be able to lower that in a few weeks or so, because I don’t know when it’s going to come,” Golo said. “It can come tomorrow. It can come in a few weeks. It may not come for a few more months. But my future right now is just very unknown.”
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