Due to approaching college commitment deadlines, this year’s change in the way the FAFSA is completed is creating delays, which is causing stress for many students and parents across the country.
More commonly referred to as FAFSA, the “Free Application for Federal Student Aid” form is a general application for government-provided college financial aid. According to studentaid.gov, you must complete the FAFSA in order to apply for any type of federal student aid such as federal grants, work-study funds or loans.
For college counselor Thomas Overberger, the internal problems experienced on the receiving end of the FAFSA have been inconvenient for the people around him.
“Between the technology issues and the site being overloaded, it just keeps getting more and more delayed,” Overberger said.
Technology intended to assist financial aid offices has become an obstacle in their proceedings.
“There was an incorrect formula, which then delayed the process,” Overberger said.
Business teacher Perry Engard shares Overberger’s concerns on how it may affect students.
According to Engard, officials shut down the website the FAFSA is completed on a couple times.
Engard said that it is a problem for many students since, because of these complications, many do not yet know which college they will attend.
With the requirement of the FAFSA for government-provided student loans, many families are left waiting for results on if they qualify for financial aid.
Overberger finds this troubling for students.
“Schools are starting to push their decision day back to May 15 through June 1,” Overberger said.
He observes that the “pressure and anxiety” of having a later decision deadline is “definitely there” for the students around him.
Affected by this situation, senior Hannah Ruggiero also feels the stress of the FAFSA delays.
“I haven’t gotten any answers yet,” Ruggiero said. “We were supposed to get the results about a month ago and then they said they were doing more changes.”
The new process for filling out the FAFSA automatically retrieves information from electronic filings of tax returns.
Overberger appreciates the idea of an easier FAFSA. “Back in the day, you had to manually enter everything yourself. [Now], you just plug in your information and it automatically puts it in,” Overberger said.