Five tips for dealing with the new FAFSA

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Late this past summer, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, would be delayed for the second year in a row. The forms were redesigned in 2023 to be more streamlined and easier to fill to out — cutting down the number of questions from over 100 to under 20 for most people — but its rollout has been plagued with setbacks, mistakes, and technical issues.

During last year’s admissions cycle, this not only delayed financial aid offers for students, but it also meant that fewer students submitted the forms at all. By the beginning of May 2024, when most colleges require decision commitments for fall, FAFSA applications were down 20 percent from the same time the previous year, according to the National College Attainment Network’s FAFSA tracker.

For this year’s admission cycle, the FAFSA fully launched November 21, nearly two months late. So to help you and any aspiring students in your life hit the ground running, we turned to Vice Provost for Faculty and GSE Centennial Presidential Professor of Education Laura Perna for some tips on navigating the new forms and potential challenges. Perna is an expert in college access, affordability, and success, especially for low-income, first-generation, and nontraditional students.

“I’m really worried about what the FAFSA troubles and delays mean for enrollment — especially for students from low-income families and students who are first in their families to attend college,” Perna says. “Those are the students who most need the financial aid, and they’re also the most likely to experience some sort of challenge in this process.”

Persevere through the frustration

It’s really important for people to complete the FAFSA. The published costs of going to college can be daunting, but many people don’t pay the sticker price because they get financial aid. The FAFSA is the way to get that aid. People who enroll in college without completing the FAFSA may be leaving money on the table. Other people may decide not to enroll because they think they can’t afford to go, when in fact, there may have been financial aid that could have helped pay those costs. So the most important recommendation is just complete it.

Create a Federal Student Aid ID ASAP

To get started, students should make a username and password combination on the studentaid.gov site as soon as possible, even if they aren't quite ready to complete the FAFSA. Please know that parents and guardians will need their own Federal Student Aid ID accounts for dependent students.

Reach out for help

One of the many frustrating parts of the rollout is that students and families have had trouble getting through to the Department of Education’s customer service line. Others have gotten through but haven’t gotten answers that resolve their problem. Hopefully, these issues have been addressed. But people should know that there may be other sources of assistance, including their high school counselor or the financial aid office of the college they want to attend. Colleges have high interest in making sure that students get their financial aid offers, and they’re also experiencing frustration with the new system.

Other organizations also offer assistance. uAspire is a nonprofit that offers virtual financial aid events and FAFSA completion tips. The National College Attainment Network has information on its website on FAFSA completion events in each state. Students and parents should do a search to identify resources in their state or local community.

Make a list of the different school and scholarship deadlines and submit ahead of time

It’s really important to pay attention to the deadlines. Some state grant aid and some institutional grant aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. That means once the funds are gone, you don’t get them — even if you’re eligible. This past year, some institutions made adjustments to recognize FAFSA-related problems, but students and families should be paying attention to application deadlines and doing their best to comply with them.

Don’t give up

Please persist. There is money out there that can help pay the costs of college, but you have to make it through the system. This new FAFSA should be easier for students and parents to complete — once the system is fully functioning — but there may still be some bumps in the road ahead.

Dr. Laura W. Perna is Penn’s Vice Provost for Faculty and the GSE Centennial Presidential Professor of Education in Penn GSE’s Policy, Organizations, Leadership, and Systems Division. The cofounder and executive director of Penn GSE’s Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (Penn AHEAD), she has testified before Congress and advised university leaders and policymakers. Through a comprehensive and multi-faceted research program, she and her team are advancing knowledge of college promise programs.