Normally a time of celebration for high school seniors, this spring has been marred by the federal government's botched rollout of the new FAFSA application.
Normally a time of celebration for high school seniors, this spring has been marred by the federal government's botched rollout of the new FAFSA application.The last thing standing between Ashnaelle Bijoux and her college dream is the FAFSA form - a financial aid application that's supposed to help students go to college, but is blocking her instead. She has tried to submit it over and over. Every time, it fails to go through.
The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, went through a massive overhaul that was supposed to make it simpler and shorter. But a series of blunders by the Education Department made it harder than ever, delaying college decisions by months and raising fears that hundreds of thousands of students will forgo college entirely.
To her, college is a chance to seize the opportunities that weren't available to her mother, who immigrated from Haiti to the U.S. as an adult. Bijoux hopes to become a therapist and set a positive example for her three younger brothers. Similar problems have been reported across the country, along with numerous other bugs that the Education Department has scrambled to fix. Families who call for customer service have faced long wait times or say the call center hung up on them.
“If they don’t get checks from the federal government to basically get them through next year, they will not survive,” Pérez said. The Education Department on Tuesday said it's giving those parents a new way to enter their tax information manually. But as recently as this week, some students said they were still blocked from submitting the form.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Experts fear ‘catastrophic’ college declines thanks to botched FAFSA rolloutThe bungled rollout of a new federal student aid form has left millions of students in limbo and some wondering if their college dreams will survive.
Read more »
Experts fear 'catastrophic' college declines thanks to botched FAFSA rolloutThe bungled rollout of a new federal student aid form has left millions of students in limbo and some wondering if their college dreams will survive. By May 1, students across the U.S. usually know where they're headed to college in the fall.
Read more »
Experts fear ‘catastrophic’ college declines thanks to botched FAFSA rolloutBy May 1, students across the U.S. usually know where they’re headed to college in the fall. But this year, most don’t even have financial aid offers yet after delays and glitches in the launch of the new FAFSA form.
Read more »
Experts fear ‘catastrophic’ college declines thanks to botched FAFSA rolloutBy May 1, students usually know where they’re headed to college in the fall. This year, most still haven’t received financial aid offers.
Read more »
US Education Department Now Promising Three-Day Turnaround On Lingering FAFSA ApplicationsI explore how community college students achieve their goals — whether they’re fresh out of high school, or going back to school for the first time in years — and how colleges help them do so.
Read more »
College decision day passes many students by as FAFSA delays lingerHaley Messenger is a producer at NBC News covering business and the economy.
Read more »