"FAFSA season will soon be upon us. Every year, college students and high school seniors who are headed to college must complete the application to receive federal financial aid," The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

..."The goal, officials say, is to improve the application process after last year’s tumultuous rollout of the new form that was plagued with delays, technology issues and lower submission rates.

The testing period should allow the department to fix issues prior to the application’s full release, officials said. It will begin with hundreds of students, and eventually expand to thousands.

Jill Desjean, director of policy analysis with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, hopes that the impact of this year’s delay will be 'smaller' than last year’s.

'I think they've got a very deliberate process in place with two months of live testing, where they can iron out any remaining wrinkles and then ideally make it broadly available Dec. 1,' Ms. Desjean said. 'If that can happen, I think we're going to have a better year than we did last year.'"

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: 10/3/2024