WASHINGTON (AP) — After a long summer of tech glitches, most prospective American college students have finally applied for federal financial aid – an annual process that has been upended by a botched redesign.
The number of high school seniors who have completed their Free Application for Federal Student Aid is down 9% compared to the same period last year, according to the National College Attainment Network. That number was as high as 40% in the spring, when students are typically required to submit their forms to give schools enough time to put together an aid package.
How much the FAFSA problems will affect the number of students who attend college remains to be seen, advisers and counselors say. But the delays have certainly led to a change in where students enroll, as many students have been forced to select a college despite having limited information about their financial situation.
Adjovi Golo was one of the few black girls at her suburban Chicago high school and was excited about college because it wouldn’t be so hard to be seen and heard. She hoped to attend Spelman College, a historically black women’s college in Atlanta.
Federal financial aid calculators told her she would likely be eligible for $15,000 in loans, grants and student aid, but her FAFSA application had not been processed before the May 1 deadline to choose a college. She called the FAFSA hotline 11 times to troubleshoot a glitch, and each time she got a different suggestion.
DePaul University in Chicago, meanwhile, offered her the most merit scholarships. Since she didn’t receive a full financial aid package from either university and her FAFSA application remained in limbo, she decided to enroll at DePaul rather than risk taking on even more debt.
In August, Golo moved into DePaul’s dorm. She loves her roommate, the campus, and her professors.
But she wonders what could have been different.
“I felt like I was backed into a corner,” she said. “Part of me, about 75%, has no regrets. I love it here. But another part of me wishes I had waited.”
The decline in FAFSA completion rates has been particularly sharp for students who already face hurdles in enrolling in postsecondary education, including low-income students and students of color. Advocates fear the delays — in addition to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down affirmative action in higher education — will impact where and whether many go to college.
In theory, says Katharine Meyer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, “we will see a less ethnically diverse and socioeconomically diverse cohort of college enrollees.”
According to the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, areas with high percentages of people living in poverty and places with larger percentages of black and Latino residents saw a 20% larger decline in FAFSA applications than higher-income areas. The analysis also found that students in these areas were twice as likely to have submitted an incomplete FAFSA application.
“It’s too early to say how bad the decline in college enrollment will be, but it’s not too early to see the risks,” said Peter Granville, a fellow at the Century Foundation.
For students who cannot pay their tuition and fees entirely out of pocket, almost all forms of financial aid—institutional, state, and federal, including eligibility for federal loans—require completion of the FAFSA form.
A 2020 law directed the Department of Education to simplify the FAFSA form, which had been criticized as lengthy and difficult, especially for families without college experience. But the simplified form’s rollout in 2023 has been met with one glitch after another – it was released months late, only in December, and students have experienced glitches and hours-long waits for help from the helpline.
Emmily Almaraz, a third-year student at Texas Christian University, said she filled out the form in less than 20 minutes this year. But the students she helped as an intern at a college access organization weren’t all as lucky.
Despite hours of phone calls, one student was unable to get through the verification process for parents who do not have a Social Security number, which is the case for some immigrants. Ultimately, the student decided to defer enrollment until the spring, Almaraz said.
“It’s really disheartening for some kids when they realize they’re missing out on an education just because they’re missing a single piece of information,” Almaraz said. “That can lead to them having to pay for an education they can’t fully afford.”
Finding housing became an additional hurdle for students whose families were unwilling to put down a deposit without learning more about financial aid, said Jesse Hendrix, executive director of College Possible Texas. Many had to seek expensive off-campus housing or were unable to secure housing at all.
Some students who are admitted to four-year colleges are opting for less expensive two-year colleges closer to home, advisers say. Chandra Scott, executive director of the nonprofit Alabama Possible, said she has been in touch with the state’s community colleges and urged them to prepare for a last-minute influx of students.
“They’re going to hold out as long as they can because maybe they really want to go to that four-year institution,” Scott said. “But if they don’t have the financial resources they need to get there in time, they’re going to have to make difficult decisions about whether to sit out a year, which we hope they don’t.”
Students who don’t go straight to college after high school tend to face more barriers to entering higher education, according to counselors and advocacy groups. While some states have programs to help students return to school, only four in 10 students who don’t go straight to college after high school do so in the next decade, Granville said.
“If you decide to wait a year, it’s more likely to be a lonely journey,” he said. “It can reduce the likelihood that someone will ultimately graduate.”
Some students are still dealing with FAFSA matters even after enrolling. In Chicago, Golo submitted a paper FAFSA application in June to receive a final aid package from DePaul, but she was told the agency had a backlog of paper applications. Golo said the school didn’t tell her to start paying until the paperwork was processed.
“I’m just scared to withdraw money because I know that in a couple of weeks or so I might be able to reduce it because I don’t know when it’s coming,” Golo said of her financial aid package. “It may come tomorrow. It may come in a couple of weeks. It may be a couple of months away. But my future is just very uncertain right now.”
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