Many prospective and returning college students who applied for financial aid for the 2024-25 academic year through the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are still waiting for their financial aid offer letters, which detail how much federal, state, and institutional aid they’d receive, EdSource reports. Without clarity on their out-of-pocket costs, students may not be able to make an informed decision about where, and whether, they can afford to go to college.
The new FAFSA is a shorter, simpler form meant to streamline the federal student aid process for college students and their families. However, the form, released three months later than usual on Dec. 30, 2023, led to significant delays, glitches, and other unforeseen complications that left many students struggling to complete their aid applications. These difficulties have also meant that some colleges could not send out financial aid packages in time for decision day on May 1, the usual deadline for students to choose to a college or university. As of May 2024, 28% of higher education institutions across the country said they had not begun packaging their students’ financial aid offers, according to a National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators survey.
‘Financial aid is the only plan that I have’
Students who have not received their financial aid offer are relying on local scholarships to cover some college expenses, but that may not be enough to make college affordable.
“I don’t have a backup plan in case I can’t rely on financial aid,” Leslie Valdovinos, a senior at California State University (CSU) who spent the majority of her summer waiting for her financial aid letter, tells EdSource. “Financial aid is the only plan that I have.”
Valdovinos finally received her financial aid offer letter on Aug. 8, but others, like Jonathan Ramirez, who is supposed to start his first year at Victor Valley College, still have not received theirs.
“I’m kind of worried because, you know, I don’t really have that much money, and I kind of want that money because I want to keep going to college and get a career and stuff. Without (financial aid) I don’t think I’ll be able to,” Ramirez said.
Related: Have current students been left out of the FAFSA rollout conversation? >
Dealing with the fallout
Students with undocumented parents, in particular, have faced persistent hurdles to completing their FAFSAs: for months, technical glitches prevented parents without Social Security numbers from submitting necessary information. According to the Education Department, around 340,000 students from mixed-status households complete the FAFSA each year, The Washington Post reports.
Experts say FAFSA problems may exacerbate this year’s summer melt—when high school graduates who have been accepted into college do not enroll due to obstacles they face during the summer, PublicSource reports. A lack of sufficient financial aid and missed administrative deadlines can discourage students from proceeding with their college plans. Summer melt has a disproportionate impact on low-income students and those who plan to attend community college, according to Harvard University’s Strategic Data Project.
Preparing for the future
Although nonprofit organizations across the country worked to help students submit their FAFSAs through one-on-one workshops, tutorials, and online resources, completions still lagged. Through Aug. 9, FAFSA completions were down 9.8% nationwide, and some states saw the percentage of completed forms drop anywhere from just over 1% in Indiana to over 16% in West Virginia compared to last year, according to the National College Attainment Network tracker.
Groups are gearing up to lend support to students applying for financial aid for the upcoming academic year. The 2025-26 FAFSA will be released during a testing period on Oct. 1 for a limited number of students and fully available by Dec. 1, according to a recent announcement by the Education Department. Some universities and college preparatory programs are also planning to provide support by hosting summer events and connecting students to counselors and peer mentors who can offer personalized help and meet students’ evolving needs, PublicSource reports.