Alma Rodriguez has been trying for months to complete her son's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online. Despite her attempts at workarounds and partial fixes to her website, she was unable to complete it.
Many parents filling out the FAFSA form for their children going to college this year are experiencing glitches, website crashes, and months-long delays due to official errors and other issues — officials say all of this year's In the application process, which the review hoped to streamline.
But Rodriguez didn't even have a chance to run that technical obstacle course because he doesn't have a Social Security number. So, until recently, you couldn't even create an online account with the Office of Federal Student Aid, a critical first step to submitting an application. .
“We're very, very stressed,” Rodriguez said of herself and Andre Pintor, an American citizen who faces a deadline to choose a college next fall. “It’s not just us as parents, but our children as well,” she added.
According to the National College Attainment Network, which advises students about postsecondary education, the Department of Education estimates that about 5.7 million people have already filed their FAFSA forms this year, about 35% later than last year. It is said that there is. Without completing the FAFSA, students will not be able to receive financial aid packets from the government or the schools they plan to attend. Many people will receive that information later than usual this year.
The updated FAFSA system was intended to make it easier to apply for aid by connecting Internal Revenue Service data with Department of Education forms for the first time. Previously, the application included many more questions and required manual entry of many required data. Despite the complexity, families typically receive estimates for federal aid within days or even hours of applying.
But with the review failing, even some parents who were able to apply say it will take months to receive their aid packets. And instead of making the process easier and more efficient this year, some applicants ended up turning to each other for support. Rodriguez said she has been trying to get through things by connecting with others in a Spanish-speaking Facebook group.
“To be honest, I'm really worried,” said Rodriguez, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico City 22 years ago so her son could pursue higher education. She works at an apartment cleaning service.
Andre, who has one older sibling, will be the first in his family to attend college and plans to study biology with the aim of becoming a doctor, Rodriguez said. However, she cannot pay her tuition fees without financial aid.
“I don't think he can't go to college,” she said, adding that she has already talked to him about attending community college if he can't secure enough federal aid. In that case, he would reapply and then transfer to a four-year university.
The problems have been occurring since the first day the latest FAFSA was launched, December 30th. When the application opened, many parents who logged in said they had to wait hours or even days just to access the website. While some people overcame the problem, those without Social Security numbers initially had no way forward.
Although many parents and guardians are now able to identify themselves after authorities have resolved some issues, there are still some who are still unable to do so. Some people report being unable to link their account to their child's application or add a signature. This delay has left many families in limbo, who want to put down a deposit for school and apply for other aid that requires them to complete the FAFSA first.
Another challenge, NCAN officials said, is that some families are having trouble finding interpreters to assist them with federal student aid offices. Although the FAFSA form is available in both English and Spanish, parents who speak other languages have no alternative options.
The Department of Education said in a statement that it is aware of recent glitches that have prevented people without Social Security numbers from starting or accessing the FAFSA since the form first became available. The department has made updates to help some people complete their applications, but acknowledged that other issues remain and said it is working to resolve issues that are still causing delays.
Depending on where parents and students are in the process, authorities will advise different courses of action. Rodriguez was told to sit still and said a solution would come soon.
Moralee Keller, NCAN's senior director of strategic programming, said further partial amendments were released over the weekend, but their effectiveness may vary by applicant.
“The confusing part for families is understanding where they are on the continuum,” she says. “How to finish what we started is what's confusing the family now.”
Elizabeth Ortiz's son, Ulises, is a sophomore studying kinesiology at El Paso Community College, but hopes to transfer to the University of Texas at El Paso this fall. Ortiz, whose son is a U.S. citizen but lives in Juarez, Mexico, said he has spent more than three months hoping to get help with his application. She was able to verify her identity with her agency over the weekend, but she says she has not yet been able to fully submit her FAFSA form.
Ortiz said it would cost more than twice what her household pays for community college to send her son to UTEP, and Ulises said it would cost more than her previous year to attend a four-year school. I am concerned that I will have to do a lot of work.
“We spent days trying and waiting hours for someone to answer every time we called,” she said. “It's very frustrating.”
