"The number of students who have applied for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is far behind previous years, leaving experts concerned many may opt out all together after a tumultuous rollout of the new system by the Department of Education," The Hill reports.

... "'I do think that because the FAFSA became available so much later than it did in a normal year and there were so many glitches at the beginning of the process that needed to be resolved, some of those folks who would normally file a FAFSA earlier in the process may have decided to set it aside temporarily to wait for all of those things to be resolved and worked out before they come back to complete it,' said Karen McCarthy, vice president for public policy and federal relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators."

"The worry is 'that maybe some of the glitches and the late rollout and limited availability when it first became available — that all of that may have turned some people off to completing the FAFSA entirely,' McCarthy said. 'So I think that does remain to be seen. Hopefully they will be able to catch up for last year. I don’t know if that’s possible.'"

... "McCarthy said the hope is that 'clean' records are sent so 'that schools are actually able to access them and get them into their systems.'"

"While some problems with the data are expected, as happens every year, McCarthy said the goal is that 'schools are able to begin their aid offer work in earnest and that we don’t have problems with those records.'"

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 3/17/2024