FAFSA is still having major issues and delaying financial aid decisions—how students and families can cope

Numerous hiccups in the rollout of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid have upended this year’s financial aid award season. 

Technological issues during the soft launch of the application at the end of December meant many students and their families may have struggled just to submit the form from the time of its release through mid-January.

Over 17 million people submit FAFSAs each year, per Department of Education data. But this year, as of late March, FAFSA submissions were down about 29% from the previous year, according to the National College Attainment Network. By now, most of the problems with submitting the form have been resolved, but getting the FAFSA information from the ED’s Federal Student Aid office to colleges has introduced another slew of issues.

At the end of March, FSA identified problems with the information some schools were receiving, including inconsistent student tax information from the Internal Revenue Service that could impact a student’s aid eligibility. The errors impacted an estimated 5% of processed FAFSA, according to ED and the IRS, all of which will be reprocessed in the first half of April, the department said in a blog post.

Many of those who have filled out an application are waiting in limbo to find out how much they will owe for tuition for the upcoming school year. 

“Every day matters, and with hundreds of thousands of FAFSAs needing to be reprocessed, even more delays for students are coming,” Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said in a statement. “Continually taking two steps forward and one giant step back is not a sustainable pathway toward getting financial aid offers out to students and families.”

While you may have to wait some time until you get your aid package, it’s still advisable to submit your FAFSA as soon as you can. Outside of those erroneous forms being reprocessed, FSA said as of April, schools should start receiving students’ financial information within one to three business days of the student submitting their FAFSA. 

Typically, most colleges have a May 1 deadline for incoming students to commit to attending, but many schools have pushed that date back in light of the FAFSA delays. Still, some students may feel the pressure to commit to a school before they’ve seen all the financial aid offers available to them or skip the FAFSA — and potentially college — process altogether. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re stressed about making a college decision amid the FAFSA turmoil.

It’s important for students who need financial aid to pay for college — and even those who think they may not qualify for aid — to complete the FAFSA, higher education experts say.  

Despite the delays, “Every high school senior and returning college student should still be completing the FAFSA,” Bethany Hubert, a financial aid specialist at Going Merry by Earnest, tells CNBC Make It. “Especially those low-income, minority and first-generation students that can really benefit from this financial aid — they need to make sure they’re prioritizing it.”

Once you’ve completed your application, Hubert says all you can really do after that is keep an eye on institution commitment deadlines, be patient and communicate your situation to the appropriate parties —schools awaiting your decision or the FSA office in the event of errors on your FAFSA.

“Make sure that you’re being proactive and staying on top of communication from your financial aid office and the Department of Education,” she says. “And make sure if you know that you’re going to have to do an appeal or a FAFSA correction that you’re prepared for that as well.”

Hubert stresses, however, that you shouldn’t feel pressured to commit to a school you don’t know you can afford just because the deadline is approaching and you haven’t seen your aid package.

“Make sure that you’re not committing if you’re uncomfortable [with your aid package] or without having all the information in front of you,” she says. “If you can wait for those decision deadlines, try and do that so that you can get those award letters hopefully in time to make an informed decision.”

Students who have received aid packages they feel are smaller than anticipated may consider appealing that decision with their school’s financial aid office, Hubert says. If your student aid index — a number generated by the FAFSA which your college will use to help determine your aid eligibility — feels off, you’ll definitely want to ask them to take another look.

Additionally, if something in your family’s financial circumstances isn’t reflected in your FAFSA, like a recent decline in income or caring for an elderly family member, informing your prospective school’s financial aid office of those could help you get more need-based aid, Hubert says.

If you’re really in a bind waiting for a financial aid decision, Hubert recommends considering alternate pathways, such as enrolling in community college to help lower the overall cost of your education. Getting a college degree typically pays off in the long run in terms of the jobs you’ll be able to get and salary you’ll be able to command with a bachelor’s versus without.

“You shouldn’t just jump to skipping college altogether,” Hubert says. She mentions a few small ways you might be able to reduce your cost of attendance like looking for more affordable housing or changing your meal plan.

 “There’s lots of ways to kind of nickel and dime some savings out of college,” she says.

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