FAFSA delays worry students waiting on financial aid packages

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, recently underwent an overhaul to become more streamlined to open up opportunities for college students to receive financial aid. However, due to a botched rollout, there have been massive delays across the nation causing prospective students to be unsure of their enrollment status and ability to afford a higher education.

National College Attainment Network CEO Kim Cook joins Wealth! to break down the issues with FAFSA and what students need to keep in mind as they wait on aid packages.

Cook offers this advice to students: "Right now the form is functioning well, the form is ready for most students. So right now if a student has had issues, if a student believes they need to make corrections, now is the time to check in to their portal to find out the status of their form and any actions they need to take. If the student might have seen some of these stories and thought that FAFSA is not for me or FAFSA's not working, we'd ask them to please go give it another try and hope for a smoother experience this time."

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This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video Transcript

BRAD SMITH: Mark your calendars. We are less than two weeks away from the traditional May 1st college deadline. And students are still waiting on financial aid offers.

This comes after a series of setbacks from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid known in your hood as FAFSA. The application was originally supposed to roll out a new version of the app. And then some tech glitches, when it launched earlier this year after a three-month delay. Then they found another issue this time. Issues in processing tax data.

So with no solid timeline for when students can receive aid packages, what does that mean for the selection process here for students as well? Kim Cook, National College Attainment Network CEO, here to break it down for us.

Hey, Kim. Thanks so much for taking the time. First, what a debacle this has been, an absolute mess. How much more difficult is it making that college decision process for so many families and households?

KIM COOK: We certainly started this year with high hopes for everything that would become of what should have been a simpler FAFSA that expanded eligibility for students. Those things are still true. But as you point out, they have been complicated by technical issues.

We started knowing that we would be opening this form in January, whereas, previously, it's, typically, been open in October. So we were looking at a compressed timeline, a later start, but the same finish line. And that's the challenge that you're pointing out today about the May 1 deadline.

BRAD SMITH: And so with that deadline in mind, who is most impacted right now?

KIM COOK: Right now, the students who are feeling this the most are the students who rely upon those financial aid offers and financial aid from institutions to be able to afford college, to be able to say, yes. Many are asking me, so how are students deciding between colleges, when they have admission officers, but-- no admission offers, but no aid packages rather?

And our concern, really, is for students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, students who are the first in their family to attend. The question isn't where, but the question could increasingly become, should or can I attend. That would be our greatest fear.

BRAD SMITH: One of the fears is that this could lead to a lost generation, as some have been quipping on the issue here. So how do we rectify this? What are some of the solutions that can be put into effect?

KIM COOK: So there's still time to inject momentum into this cycle. Right now, the form is functioning well. The form is ready for most students. So right now, if a student has had issues, if a student believes they need to make corrections, now is the time to check in to their portal to find out the status of their form and any actions they need to take.

If the student might have seen some of these stories and thought FAFSA is not for me, or FAFSA is not working, we'd ask them to please go give it another try, and hope for a smoother experience this time.

BRAD SMITH: Kim Cook, National College Attainment Network CEO. Kim, thanks so much for breaking this down for us and taking some time.

KIM COOK: Thank you.