by Kat Struhar October 28, 2024 @ 7:30 am
This story is part of CT Mirror Explains, an ongoing effort to distill our wide-ranging reporting into a “what you need to know” format and provide practical information to our readers.
Each year, millions of students and prospective students, including more than 2 million high school seniors, applying for college also complete a separate application known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The FAFSA provides detailed information to the U.S. Department of Education about the student’s (and their family’s) financial situation — income, bank balances, investments. This gives the department information it needs to assess whether the student qualifies for financial aid from the government to pay for college and gives schools information to determine their own aid packages for students.
For decades, the form has been a source of frustration for many students. It was time-consuming and could be difficult to understand. So last year the federal government tried to simplify it — trimming the questionnaire from over 100 questions to less than 40.
But the rollout of the new form didn’t go well. The FAFSA didn’t become available until late December — two months later than the typical Oct. 1 release date — and the form was plagued with bugs that made it difficult to access the website. According to an article by The New York Times, the bugs went beyond just accessing the website. Data entry problems with the new system led to inaccurate aid calculations.
This slowed down the government’s ability to process applications and resulted in a sharp decline in FAFSA completion numbers. In Connecticut, 59% of high school seniors completed FAFSA applications in 2023-24, a decline of 10.2% from the year before the form changed, according to data from the National College Attainment Network.
Federal officials pushed back the deadline, which complicated timelines for colleges and universities, delaying their admissions and awards decisions and raising concerns that fewer low-income students would have access to higher education. One Connecticut admissions officer called it a “fiasco.”
Since last year, the federal Department of Education has been working to fix the problems, but there are still some delays. Here’s what you need to know about this year’s FAFSA process.
When will the form be available and where do I go to fill it out?
The FAFSA will become available to all students on or before Dec. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Education. It will be released after a phased rollout that started Oct. 1.
The FAFSA was released to a limited number of students and institutions on Oct. 1 for testing. These volunteers will troubleshoot so the education department can resolve issues as they arise, then access will expand from hundreds of applicants to tens of thousands.
The Department of Education hopes that a phased rollout will allow problems to be identified and addressed before the form is open to all.
Incoming college students can fill out the FAFSA at the Federal Student Aid Office’s website, StudentAid.gov.
What information do I need in order to complete it?
To complete the FAFSA, the first thing you need to do is create an FSA ID. This is the username and password you will use to log in to the Federal Student Aid website and start the FAFSA form electronically.
You will also need your social security number, and if you are not a U.S. citizen, you will need your A-Number.
Finally, you’ll need to submit your financial information. This includes federal income tax returns, records of child support received, records of net worth of investments, businesses, and farms, and your current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts.
Some students may also need to submit bank statements and records of investments and records of untaxed income, if applicable.
When will a decision be made about whether I qualify for aid?
After submitting your FAFSA, forms are typically processed within one to three days if they are submitted electronically. Paper forms are processed within seven to 10 days.
When your form has been processed, you can review it to make sure all the information is complete and accurate, and make corrections if anything is missing or incorrect.
Decisions about whether or not you qualify for aid are made by each school individually.
Will the colleges I applied to know whether I qualify for financial aid?
You can send your FAFSA to as many as 20 schools, and, when your form has been processed, the Federal Student Aid office will send that information to the colleges you listed.
Each college calculates your eligibility for federal and nonfederal student aid based on your Student Aid Index — the lower the number the higher it assesses your need. You will be able to see this number after your FAFSA has been processed. The number, however, does not represent “a dollar amount of aid you’ll receive, what your family is expected to provide or your final financial aid offer,” according to the studentaid.gov site.
Depending on whether you apply early decision, regular decision, or in another round of admissions, you could get your financial aid package at various points in the year. Early decision applicants typically receive it in the fall, and regular decision applicants typically receive packages in the late spring and early summer.
Note: CT Mirror stories appear on TBE as part of an arrangement between CT MIrror and TBE. For more from CT Mirror, click here.
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