After months of delays, the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid has finally launched — but not without issues and confusion.
Droves of college students and their families attempting to submit the 2024-25 FAFSA have faced technology issues and limited time frames to actually complete the application.
The shaky launch has sparked heightened frustration from those seeking financial aid for their college education. It also prompted the Department of Education to issue a statement acknowledging “minor issues” during the application process. Students fill out the FAFSA to receive federal student loans, college grants and work-study funds.
These challenges have a particular impact on prospective freshmen who are still choosing where to attend college, said Jill Desjean, a senior policy analyst with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. That’s because finances often play a key role in a student’s choice of school.
“If finances are a big factor — which they will be for many or most students — this really impacts them significantly,” Ms. Desjean said. “I understand the stress that they must be under because they need to have in hand a financial aid offer that shows how much they'll be getting in financial aid that can determine whether they can afford to go to school or not.
“This is a big life decision that people are making…. It really is critical that this thing is up and running and working as intended to ensure that people can access, succeed and complete college.”
Students who have successfully completed the application will likely wait until at least February to find out how much aid they will receive, Ms. Desjean said. In past years, the form opened in October, and students’ forms were processed by the Department of Education in around a week. Students then waited to hear from individual colleges about aid.
This year’s timeline gives incoming freshmen a “compressed time frame” to choose a college, Ms. Desjean said.
Students’ deadlines for filing this year’s FAFSA vary based on state and institution. In the Pittsburgh region, University of Pittsburgh students should complete it by May 15, Duquesne students must do so before May 1, and Penn State and Carnegie Mellon students should complete it by Feb. 15.
In light of the technology issues, many schools are encouraging students to fill out the form as soon as they can.
The Department of Education began its soft launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA on Dec. 31 — the deadline for when the application legally needed to be available.
The revamped FAFSA, which arrives four years after Congress approved the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020, aims to improve both the FAFSA and the way the government analyzes student needs.
Key changes to the form include a shortened question pool — it asks around 50 questions rather than over 100 — and a streamlined process for government access to the financial information of applicants and their families. Beginning in the 2024-25 award year, a new interface will allow the government to directly receive federal tax information from the Internal Revenue Service when determining a student's needs and grant eligibility.
Additionally, beginning in the 2024-25 award year, the federal government will determine financial aid needs based on a Student Aid Index metric. Compared to the previous metric, this new metric will disregard family size in its calculations and will provide more funding for low-income applicants.
The FAFSA is available online at fafsa.gov. As its name suggests, the application is free to submit.
Though students have faced a “frustrating” process thus far, Ms. Desjean hopes that eventually, the revamped form will simplify the aid process.
“Ideally, when this thing is up and running and smooth, I do think that people will have a better experience,” she said. “It will take them less time to complete the FAFSA. It will be less frustrating and less confusing. Unfortunately right now, we're plagued by technology issues that are keeping people from being able to realize the full benefit of this simplified FAFSA.”
First Published: January 4, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: January 5, 2024, 8:54 p.m.
