Almost every person in the United States who plans to attend college fills out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students will receive some type of federal help if they complete the form.
For the past couple of years, students were able to complete FAFSA as early as October and were able to get their financial aid in December. This year, many new changes have been made to the application, both good and bad, that have affected future college students.
Many seniors have mixed feelings about the new changes.
“I think the new changes made completing FAFSA very difficult and discouraging for students and for families with no SSN,” senior Emily Garcia said.
The 2023-2024 application did not open until Dec. 31 and many weren’t able to create accounts for themselves or their parents.
“If anything I still haven’t even completed my FAFSA due to them not being able to verify their account because of their social security number,” senior Joselyn Peinado said.
A lot of seniors are currently getting their federal packets from their college and have had no time to decide where they want to attend based on their aid.
“I think the changes were rushed and not thought through enough before being added,” senior Brenda Segovia said. “Even though they claimed to make the changes for easier completion, the opposite occurred.”
After many errors and computer crashes, seniors hope the application process gets easier for the next few years.
“However, after making the account I do like how the questions were very easy to answer this year,” Segovia said.
