The new application for college students seeking financial aid has been marred by problems for several months, leading many to simply give up on going to school as the rollout for next year’s FAFSA application has already been delayed by the U.S. Department of Education. One local group, though, is trying to help students with those applications.
The Department of Education released the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid in December — several months delayed.
“It has continued to this day to have different levels of dysfunction,” said Andrew Flagel, the president and CEO of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, which represents 18 universities in the D.C. area.
“Sallie Mae just did a survey and more than half of families reported that they had a hard time getting through the process this year,” Flagel told WTOP, adding that 10% claimed that they had just dropped the process entirely and not enrolled in school.
At one point this year, his organization had 40% fewer students fill out the FAFSA compared to the same time last year. With hard work and outreach, they have narrowed it down to less than 10%.
Students have reported several issues while filling out applications this year.
One student at Johns Hopkins University told WTOP in the spring, “If something gets resolved, there’s another problem. And if that problem gets resolved, then there’s another problem. So yeah, it’s just a never-ending process of problems.”
The Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area recently received a federal grant from the U.S. Education Department to try to fill the gaps in applications.
“There is still time — there is still money available,” Flagel said.
He said the consortium will hold events, including one at a Washington Mystics game in September, to try to bring more awareness to the free financial aid counselors that are available to help any family that has been bogged down by the process.
If any family would like to connect with one of these counselors, they can be found on the group’s website.
The Department of Education announced last week that the opening for these applications for the 2025-26 school year will be delayed from Oct.1 to December.
“A lot of the educational associations encourage the Department of Education to take the extra time to roll it out in December, and to be sure to get it right this year,” Flagel concluded.
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