The new Free Application for Federal Student Aid — which launched over the New Year’s weekend after a major face-lift that made it less cumbersome to fill out — has finally arrived but with some hiccups.
The form was “soft launched,” meaning it is only available online for small windows of time, leaving families refreshing browsers and frustrated that they couldn’t fill it out at their convenience. The form is used by current and prospective college students to qualify for financial aid and scholarships.
“It is not ideal,” said Becky Thompson, the director of student financial assistance at Washington Student Achievement Council. “But it is what it is.”
The U.S. Department of Education explained that the soft launch approach leaves time for the department’s staff to “monitor site performance and form functionality.” On Jan. 4, the office noted it “uncovered some minor issues affecting users at various points in the application process.”
On Friday, the Federal Student Aid office posted on the social media platform X that the form would be available from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday and after 5 a.m. Monday. “Please know we are working diligently to resolve issues during the soft launch period,” the office posted.
The goal is to make the form available for longer periods as the department continues to conduct site maintenance and resolve issues, a department spokesperson said.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, more than 700,000 successful submissions were received by the department.
Washington has long lagged behind in FAFSA completions across the nation. For the graduating high school class of 2023, only about 45% of Washington students completed the paperwork, making it 47th among the 50 states. Nationally, about 59% of the class of 2023 completed the form.
“For years, a very complicated and cumbersome financial aid process has turned what should be just a first step on the path to higher education into the first stumbling block,” said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray during a virtual news conference Nov. 30. Murray has worked for years on a rewrite of the financial aid form.
The Department of Education said families shouldn’t feel rushed to complete the form because the agency won’t send results to colleges immediately. However, the form normally launches in October, and the additional hiccup means financial aid officers have less time to determine eligibility and give students aid awards.
There is no deadline for applying for state and federal financial aid in Washington, Thompson said. So while families are encouraged to complete either a FAFSA or the Washington Application for State Financial Aid, called WASFA, as soon as possible, “it is OK for families to give it a couple weeks right now,” Thompson said. (The WASFA is designed primarily for undocumented students or those who do not qualify for federal financial aid because of their immigration status.)
She trusts that financial aid officers will be able to promptly adjust and provide aid to students.
“The good news is in the long term, we expect more students to be eligible for Pell grants” — the largest federal grant program for undergraduates — “and we do expect a simplified form,” Thompson added.
Tina Camero, a school counselor who works on the college and career readiness team at Seattle Public Schools, hasn’t heard much concern about the soft launch in school counselor offices yet.
Camero said if students are seeking an exact deadline, they should look for that information from the individual colleges and universities where they are applying, since that deadline can vary from school to school.
For example, the University of Washington’s deadline for priority consideration is Feb. 28. Washington State University’s priority deadline is March 31 for new students and Feb. 15 for current students.
Some students can’t complete the FAFSA right now, Thompson said, such as those whose parents are not U.S. citizens. Thompson stressed that they are eligible to apply, but right now, due to an error with the form that the department has identified, they’re unable to.
Even if students or their families haven’t filed tax information, students are still eligible to apply for aid, Thompson added.
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