On December 27, 2020, the FAFSA Simplification Act was passed. Plans to make the FAFSA application more accessible to students across the country were made. The new FAFSA would finally become available to students in 2023. The application went from about 118 questions to now, 36 questions. Though much shorter, the FAFSA has been far from accessible to many students. There is no nicer way to say it: the 2024-2025 FAFSA has been a mess!
Credit: FAFSA
Traditionally, the FAFSA opens on October 1st, however, the 2024-2025 FAFSA was set to be unveiled to the public on December 1, 2023. Though 2 months later than the usual date, the US Department of Education decided to delay the launch of the new application. It was not until December 30, 2023 that students were able to access the long-awaited, new and improved FAFSA. The website was introduced under a soft launch. During the soft launch period, the website was under construction most of the time and only accessible to students periodically while the US Department of Education monitored website performance.
The soft launch period was originally scheduled for the entirety of January but ended earlier than planned. In mid-January, the application was made accessible to applicants at all times, except for short periods when the website had to be shut down for updates.
During the soft launch period, the FAFSA helpline was closed and students were not able to get access to help on the application through the phone number. Only the live chat option was available. Though it was able to aid many people in completing their applications, many students had issues that the live chat was not equipped to help with. Even after the helpline resumed regular office hours, students found it impossible to reach a representative because of the sheer number of calls the office was getting.
Students whose contributors (students, parents, guardians, spouses, etc.) don’t have a social security number (SSN) all ran into the same problem. They were unable to fill out the application because the new FAFSA application requires all applicants and contributors to create an FSA ID, which asks for an SSN. FAFSA created a system for those specific applicants to verify their contributor’s identity by contacting them and replying to an email with the necessary information to prove their parents’ identity.
Though the FAFSA claims that these applicants have the same access to financial aid, they clearly don’t because many haven’t been able to complete their applications. This is only one, of the many major problems that students face when applying for financial aid with the “user-friendly version” of the FAFSA application.
Not only have there been numerous problems with the application itself, FAFSA keeps delaying the processing of applications. All FAFSA applications that have been submitted are currently under the “In Review” stage. For some people, their application has been at the stage for over a month.
Credit: Sallie Mae
Applicants have also been given the opportunity to correct their FAFSA application. However, corrections will not open until the application has been processed. Many applicants have made major mistakes in their application, with many students answering the strangely worded question about unsubsidized loans incorrectly. Such a mistake could mean that the student will not receive any aid!
FAFSA applications were originally supposed to start processing in February but got pushed back several times. FAFSA’s most recent announcement claims that applications would start to be processed in mid-March.
In previous years, students would receive a financial aid offer along with their admission offer, however, this will not happen this year because schools have yet to receive any financial aid information since no FAFSA applications have been processed. Colleges that use other methods to calculate financial aid, like the CSS profile, can give students an idea of how much college will cost. Unfortunately, schools that only use the FAFSA will not be able to give students any information on how much their out-of-pocket costs will be.
Because of the FAFSA fiasco, the traditional May 1st National College Decision Day has been adjusted for many colleges. Many schools have decided to push back their commitment days and deposit due dates to accommodate students who depend on financial aid to make their decisions on which schools they commit to.