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How the New FAFSA Created a Crisis

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Illustration by The Chronicle

You’ve probably seen a lot of headlines about the FAFSA in 2024. That’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Prospective college students and their families fill it out to determine how much money they can get from the government for tuition and fees.

The FAFSA is critical for college access, but the form has long had problems. Until recently, it asked 108 questions, including information about taxes, income, and identification that was difficult for some families to provide. The burdensome process deterred some would-be students from getting the financial aid they deserved.

A few years ago, Congress directed the U.S. Education Department to cut most of the questions and simplify the form by October 2022. But the new form wasn’t actually ready until December 2023. And even when it went live, it was plagued by technical glitches that made it difficult to complete. Many students with immigrant parents couldn’t complete the form at all.

The result? A lot of people gave up. Fewer students will be enrolling in higher education in the 2024-25 academic year.

When the June 30, 2024, deadline to fill out the FAFSA passed, the damage was clear: Completion of the form among high-school seniors was down 11.6 percent from 2023, a decline of roughly 200,000 submissions. And that’s just the new freshmen.

The FAFSA fallout is bad news for many colleges, especially institutions that rely on meeting enrollment targets to balance their budgets. It’s also bad news for many students who, through no fault of their own, are delaying or nixing their plans to get a college education.

Who's Harmed by FAFSA Delays

'A Real Sense of Panic'
By Eric Hoover April 17, 2024
Imagine having no idea how much your dream college will cost. This dispatch from a Brooklyn high school chronicles the determination, doubt, and anger of students awaiting financial-aid offers.
Financial Frustration
By Eric Hoover January 31, 2024
There are millions of students with a parent who is an undocumented immigrant. For weeks, however, their attempts to fill out the FAFSA led to error messages and “please try again later.”

Catch Up on FAFSA Updates

A Federal-Aid Concern
By Eric Hoover November 26, 2024
A prominent association warns that mixed-status families could be “targeted for punitive action.”
Revamped & Ready
By Eric Hoover November 21, 2024
The federal-aid form is running smoothly, the Education Department said. But some challenges remain.
A promising start
By Eric Hoover October 15, 2024
The Education Department has enlisted hundreds of students to try out the federal-aid form before it goes live. The initial results seem promising.
'A Total Mess'
By Eric Hoover September 24, 2024
The Government Accountability Office released new findings on the federal-aid crisis. But no one can say when it will finally come to an end.