First Reactions and NASFAA’s Coverage of the 2024-25 FAFSA Soft Launch
By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Senior Staff Reporter
With the start of the New Year, the higher education community hit the ground running as the Department of Education initiated its soft launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA over the weekend. Since the launch, applicants have been reporting glitches and complaints due to the intermittent availability of the form. NASFAA is continuing to work to keep the financial aid community and the public updated on how the soft launch, limited availability, and overall timeline will impact the college enrollment process.
In response to the limited availability and reported glitches during the soft launch, NASFAA President Justin Draeger issued the following statement:
"Even by soft-launch standards, this weekend’s rollout was challenging and students, families, and financial aid administrators who have been waiting for this release for months are understandably frustrated.
Frustration will likely continue because even if students fill out the FAFSA today, we still don’t have an exact date of when schools will receive FAFSA applicant data, so financial aid administrators can begin building and communicating financial aid packages.
We know the Department of Education is working to bring the FAFSA online 24/7, but until that happens, and until we know more details about when schools will begin receiving finalized applicant data, schools cannot provide realistic timelines about when students and families will receive financial aid offers.”
While NASFAA continues to monitor developments concerning the FAFSA rollout here’s a look at the most recent* articles quoting NASFAA staff on the FAFSA launch:
- 1/3: Applying for Student Aid in California? What to Know About New FAFSA Form and Deadlines (The Sacramento Bee)
- 1/3: FAFSA Applicants Face ‘Minor Issues’ During Soft Launch of New Aid Process (Virginia Mercury)
- 1/3: The New FAFSA Is Here. Or Is It? (Inside Higher Ed)
- 1/3: Harvard's Reckoning (POLITICO)
- 1/3: Changes to FAFSA Causing Big Headaches for Students and Families (Wish-TV)
- 1/3: Soft Launch Troubles Turn the FAFSA Simplification Into a Headache (University Business)
- 1/3: The New FAFSA: What You Need to Know to Get Financial Aid for College (CNN)
- 1/2: Hanging in the FAFSA Waiting Room? What to Do to Prepare as You Wait for Your Turn. (USA Today)
- 1/2: The Updated Federal Student Aid Form Has Been Simplified (KVIA)
- 1/2: New Year, New FAFSA: College Aid Changes (WWAY News)
- 1/2: New FAFSA Form Launches: What You Need to Know to Apply for Financial Aid (Fox 5)
- 1/2: What to Know About Changes to This Year’s FAFSA Application for College Students (The Associated Press)
- 1/2: Arizona Students Can Now Begin Filling Out the FAFSA. Here’s What to Know (The Arizona Republic)
- 1/2: FAFSA Rollout Off to a Rocky Start (The Washington Post)
- 1/2: ‘It’s Very Frustrating.’ The First Few Days of the Simplified FAFSA Are Proving Complicated (MarketWatch)
- 1/2: ‘Frustration All Around’: The FAFSA’s Rocky Rollout (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
- 1/2: New Financial Aid Form Faces Rocky Rollout Amidst Technical Glitches (BNN Breaking)
- 1/1: I Spent New Year’s Eve Trying to Do the FAFSA. It Didn’t Go Well. (The New York Times)
Stay tuned to Today’s News for additional coverage, analysis and updates concerning the 2024-25 FAFSA.
*This list was last updated on January 3, 2024.
Publication Date: 1/4/2024
David S | 1/4/2024 10:27:52 AM
Shoutout to the Wall Street Journal for an early candidate for Financial Aid Non-Sequitur of The Year. To summarize: Democrats in Congress were upset about Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift, seem less interested in "FAFSA snafus," therefore they suggest "breaking up the Education Department's federal student loan monopoly."
Because that's what's holding up FAFSA's, insufficient revenue for the private sector in Title IV student loans. Were I typing this on my phone, this is where I'd add a face palm emoji.
Jeff A | 1/4/2024 8:30:55 AM
Administrative Capability hypocrisy?
ED has been extremely focused and efficient in finding ways to forgive loans.
They have been very focused on producing massive new regulatory burdens, likely without the bandwidth to implement them in an administratively capable manner.
Would you say their focus should have been on the fundamental requirements? Or focused on producing onerous, arbitrary and capricious regs that should not stand up to legal challenges?
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