WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education announced the financial aid (FAFSA) forms for next year’s applicants will be delayed several months, becoming available Dec. 1, two months later than normal.
Channel 2 Washington Correspondent Nicole D’Antonio was at the Capitol to learn more about the trouble families could be facing due to the delays. She’s followed the rocky rollout of the new FAFSA closely.
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For the second year in a row, FAFSA applications are delayed for students waiting to fill out the forms.
This is not the first delay to impact the form’s availability after a chaotic rollout this year impacted millions of students who rely on financial aid to afford their tuition.
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Sec. of Education Miguel Cardona spoke to U.S. Congress, saying there are plans for a phased rollout in the next academic year to identify system errors and receive feedback from families applying for financial aid.
“We’re moving all of our resources to make sure that we adhere to the timelines and do everything in our power to make sure that we’re not only staying true to the timelines but also communicating to parents, students and schools,” Cardona told Congress this spring.
Delays for last year from the new form were so long that students had to decide what school to attend before they even knew how much financial aid they’d be receiving. Many colleges and universities even postponed enrollment commitment deadlines to give families and students more time.
“The rollout of the better FAFSA has been riddled with delays and challenges,” Cardona told Congress. “It’s something we’ve prioritized at the Department of Education and we’ve done everything, every day, to make it right.”
Nearly 18 million students complete FAFSA every year.
Due to the planned rollout, only a small group of students will be able to apply for financial aid in October, with the rest getting access in December.
Cardona said changes have also been made to leadership and operations at the Federal Student Aid Office in the Dept. of Education.
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