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Rather than enrolling in college this autumn, a teenager from Massachusetts plans to enlist in the Marines.
A first-generation student from Illinois is relying on her job at a restaurant to cover her college expenses.
In her 30s, a woman from Florida is contemplating a return to exotic dancing to afford tuition. May 1 has traditionally been the deadline for many students to decide on a college. However, for applicants across the country, 2024 has been the year when long-established systems fell apart. While selecting a college is typically stressful, the government's mishandling of financial aid disrupted this decision-making process, impacting a wide range of American students.
The stress primarily stems from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which opens doors to government assistance with tuition and, for many, a better quality of life. This year, glitches and delays with the form prevented many vulnerable individuals from completing the process.
The application historically required students and their families to answer numerous complex questions using outdated technology. In response to a mandate from Congress, officials from the Biden administration attempted to fix the system. However, the new FAFSA encountered issues and data corruption, resulting in delays in aid offers and jeopardizing the prospects of some students who were meant to benefit from the updates. Even employees at the Education Department's Federal Student Aid office, tasked with streamlining the form, expressed frustration with the handling of the rollout, according to two agency officials not authorized to speak publicly.
Then, seemingly concluding the fiasco, the top Biden administration official overseeing the revised process resigned from his post. "FAFSA is the stepping stone to everything," said Galawe Alcenet, a senior in Minnesota who missed several private scholarships due to processing delays. "The biggest challenge has been the waiting."
Applicants' experiences were further complicated by colleges' changing stances on standardized entrance exams, last year's Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action, feelings about the Israel-Hamas conflict, and the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted their middle and high school years.
Low-income students were hit hardest by the FAFSA fiasco. As of late March, federal data showed a 40% decrease in the number of high schoolers completing their FAFSA compared to the same period last year.
"We were out of runway," said Alyssa Dobson, the financial aid director at Slippery Rock University. By late March, when the Education Department announced key details were mishandled, Dobson said she had no more time to waste. "The entire operation is a house of cards," said Melissa, a student in Florida who encountered error messages when trying to submit her application and still hasn't received a clear answer on her aid amount. "I feel like if I make one wrong move, it's just going to collapse on itself."
Melissa, like several other students, asked to withhold her last name to protect her prospects. She is in her early 30s and pursuing college for the second time after earning her associate's degree in her 20s. She had worked as an exotic dancer to cover her bills and said she will probably return to that job given her precarious financial aid circumstances. "The whole 'we're making FAFSA easier' thing? Not true," she said.
"It is an overhaul – it's not just a new website," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said at a Senate hearing on his department's budget. But, he said, "there's no excuse. Our students deserve better."
Sam, from Milford, Massachusetts, envisioned himself on the front lines after high school, either as a police officer or in the military. He had dismissed the idea of college, deeming it unaffordable. However, his perspective shifted during his junior year when he learned about a program at his school that transformed postsecondary advising. His teacher encouraged him to at least consider college, opening his eyes to the possibility of generous financial aid. After visiting a campus, Sam realized college was more than just a movie-like party scene, and he applied to nearby state schools. Despite encountering issues with the FAFSA, he was accepted. However, the frustrations with the form led him to abandon his college plans and enlist in the Marines instead.
In mid-April, Janet Leon, 18, had not yet submitted her FAFSA. Despite her efforts, the form continued to reject her parents' information, as they are Mexican immigrants without Social Security numbers. Her father works as a chef, and her mother cares for her younger siblings. Getting them to sit down and work through the form with her was challenging. Leon, who hopes to attend Iowa State University, would be the first in her family to go to college if she can afford it.
Challenges have been widespread for students from mixed-status families, where at least one parent is a non-U.S. citizen without a Social Security number. Many applicants, like Leon, continued to face issues despite promises from the Education Department to fix the problem.
Angel Ulloa, a student in New Jersey, faced FAFSA problems from the beginning. He couldn't discern which information was required or why error messages kept appearing. His mother, worried about the financial burden, called customer service multiple times daily for over a month. Despite finally submitting the form in late February, he was still waiting to hear about his aid package, weeks behind students who graduated last year.
Ximena Penuelas Quinonez, after graduating from a public high school in Phoenix, applied to community college to avoid burdening her struggling parents. She got a job at a financial aid office, where she witnessed this year's FAFSA issues firsthand. Despite these challenges, she's on track to finish her associate's degree and attend Arizona State University in the fall, though she's still uncertain about her tuition costs due to her parents' lack of Social Security numbers.
Twins Ashly and Derick Callejas, raised by working-class immigrants in New Jersey, had contrasting experiences with the FAFSA. While Ashly submitted her form smoothly, Derick encountered numerous problems and was informed he needed to correct his form after processing. Derick recently learned he could correct his form but is still awaiting information on his aid package for the University of Pennsylvania.
Henry Wolfe, after a visit to Wake Forest University, decided to attend based on the estimated aid from the CSS Profile, as the FAFSA had not been received. Diorue Hodges, deciding to attend North Carolina A&T, had a relatively easy FAFSA experience, allowing her to focus on other matters.
The government's efforts to provide more aid to low-income college students have been overshadowed by the mishandling of the FAFSA, leading to a broader erosion of public trust in the federal financial aid system. College enrollment for students of color at Pomona College and other institutions may be affected, making it difficult to identify the causes and make necessary adjustments.
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