New FAFSA Rollout -- Disgusting Incompetence!

pa-outdoorsman

pa-outdoorsman

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So, for those of you folks without SA appointments or 4-year ROTC scholarships, how is your FAFSA process going?

Like most, we are still waiting for US Dept. of Ed. to process DS's form. Even for those who are processed, the correction feature -- which includes things such as adding schools to your recipient list -- is not available.

The DOE promised to start sending info to schools in March, but that appears to be more of a publicity stunt than substance, as anecdotal evidence suggests only thousands of forms have been processed out of the millions in queue.

I'm not a big witch hunt guy, but honestly, this entire process is so FUBAR that I would call it criminal. It is absolutely beyond the pale what the federal government is doing to young people and schools with this mess. And it would be one thing if there was an end in sight, but given the level of demonstrated, long-term incompetence from all involved, from the SecEd right on down, what reason do any of us have to believe this will not drag on well into spring?
 
lol I used to do FAFSA applications for tax clients.

Years ago - one took over 4 hours. I saved the application each step of the way. Got to the end and when it came time to submit - their website would freeze. And nothing was saved.

It should take me 15 minutes. Once.
 
A1Janitor said:
lol I used to do FAFSA applications for tax clients.

Years ago - one took over 4 hours. I saved the application each step of the way. Got to the end and when it came time to submit - their website would freeze. And nothing was saved.

It should take me 15 minutes. Once.
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The crazy thing is that the new form IS much shorter than the old one and does take considerably less time to complete. I'd say less than 30 minutes for most.

The problem is that the entire technological back end that collects, stores and distributes the data is a disaster! The government has know about this project and associated deadlines for YEARS and let it come to this.

Remember, this is the same federal government that runs the military...
 
A1Janitor said:
lol I used to do FAFSA applications for tax clients.

Years ago - one took over 4 hours. I saved the application each step of the way. Got to the end and when it came time to submit - their website would freeze. And nothing was saved.

It should take me 15 minutes. Once.
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And the parent AND the child have to do one. Separately.

I literally had a FAFSA burning party after doing those for four kids. Each four or more years of college. For 10 yrs 🤢. FAFSA completion should be part of the family planning convo when you are engaged 😑

AND? They are not ‘optional’. The schools we were involved with required them. For financial aid. Even ‘private’ financial aid as it had to be tracked through this, first, to determine eligibility.

I haven’t actually done one since the boy signed 2/7. What was the impetus for this current change?
 
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My son's showed as being processed last Monday. I did notice the site said corrections could be made later, but he didn't need to add any schools. Hopefully, it's done and being sent to schools.
 
justdoit19 said:
And the parent AND the child have to do one. Separately.

I literally had a FAFSA burning party after doing rose for four kids. FAFSA completion should be part of the family planning convo when you are engaged 😑

AND? The are not ‘optional’. The schools we were involved with required them. For financial aid. Even ‘private’ financial aid as it had to be cracked through this, first, to determine eligibility.

I haven’t actually done one since the boy signed 2/7. What was the impetus for this current change?
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The goal was to "simplify" the process for students and families and also to make more students eligible for federal Pell grants by streamlining the formula used to determine aid eligibility. Obviously, the first goal has not been met -- at least not yet -- and the irony of the second is that one of the big delays was caused when it was discovered that the new aid formula had not accounted for inflation and so had to be completely reworked before forms could be processed...
 
justdoit19 said:
And the parent AND the child have to do one. Separately.

I literally had a FAFSA burning party after doing those for four kids. Each four or more years of college. For 10 yrs 🤢. FAFSA completion should be part of the family planning convo when you are engaged 😑

AND? They are not ‘optional’. The schools we were involved with required them. For financial aid. Even ‘private’ financial aid as it had to be tracked through this, first, to determine eligibility.

I haven’t actually done one since the boy signed 2/7. What was the impetus for this current change?
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Oh, and YES on the "not optional" thing. Like, I am pretty certain my DS will not qualify for a Pell grant. So, what's the point? BUT, the schools require the form, even for school-based aid. Plus, the form is also used to determine eligibility for subsidized loans, should you need them.

Between the FAFSA mess and not knowing for another week or two whether my DS may be upgraded to a 4-year scholarship, it's pretty much impossible to make any kind of firm decisions. I did speak with an admissions counselor at one of the schools where he is admitted, and she acknowledged that the number of commits they have for the freshman class is significantly below where it would normally be at this point in the calendar. Bottom line is, most folks do not want to send in non-refundable enrollment deposits unless/until they know they can afford to actually go to school there!
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
Oh, and YES on the "not optional" thing. Like, I am pretty certain my DS will not qualify for a Pell grant. So, what's the point? BUT, the schools require the form, even for school-based aid. Plus, the form is also used to determine eligibility for subsidized loans, should you need them.

Between the FAFSA mess and not knowing for another week or two whether my DS may be upgraded to a 4-year scholarship, it's pretty much impossible to make any kind of firm decisions. I did speak with an admissions counselor at one of the schools where he is admitted, and she acknowledged that the number of commits they have for the freshman class is significantly below where it would normally be at this point in the calendar. Bottom line is, most folks do not want to send in non-refundable enrollment deposits unless/until they know they can afford to actually go to school there!
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It’s low bc people can’t do the stupid FAFSA…🙄🙄🙄
 
pa-outdoorsman said:
Exactly. That's what this post is about. Either people can't complete the FAFSA because the site doesn't work, or the Dept. of Ed can't process the forms and send info to the schools.
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I’m was kinda sorta kidding..that it’s bc kids and parents gave up and decided to go to work, instead.

Your points are quite valid and a good point!
 
I’m sorry to hear this is still an issue. I’m so disappointed with how this was “rolled out” and what it means to the class of 2024 as they try to navigate this dumpster fire. I’m not sure how kids are supposed to make a decision without this info. It’s a sad situation.
 
I get a year's reprieve from filling it out this year. Hopefully, they get it all resolved by my next go-around in 25.

I get why schools require it even for those who won't qualify. But, it does seem like it will create total chaos across all schools. Lots of local ones are already pushing their Acceptance due dates to June to allow students more time to get financial aid answers.
 
justme said:
I get a year's reprieve from filling it out this year. Hopefully, they get it all resolved by my next go-around in 25.

I get why schools require it even for those who won't qualify. But, it does seem like it will create total chaos across all schools. Lots of local ones are already pushing their Acceptance due dates to June to allow students more time to get financial aid answers.
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I won't be surprised if it drags on past June 1, unfortunately. But at that point, it kind of becomes disastrous for schools. I mean, they have to plan faculty numbers, class schedules, housing assignments, support personnel such as food service, etc. Without having a good estimate of the size of the incoming class and the majors, how do you do that? And even once you know, it's not as though you can just do everything that needs to be done in a few weeks. I am sure it is a many months long process in a typical year to ensure everything is ready when students show up on campus for the fall term.
 
After countless attempts and trying to get tech help that never materialized, we just gave up. We weren't going to get any financial help anyway, but feel bad for peeps trying to navigate this disaster.
 
Sorry to hear about the problems this year. I finished my final kid's FAFSA last year and I found them to be a breeze the last 4-5 years. Once they started allowing direct transfer of tax info from the IRS site, they took about 15 minutes.
 
To bring more optimism to the thread - the EFC from the email we received after it was filed was higher than what is now noted after it's been processed. . .a silver lining
 
Holden100 said:
To bring more optimism to the thread - the EFC from the email we received after it was filed was higher than what is now noted after it's been processed. . .a silver lining
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Yeah, probably down about a grand, right? That's the result of adjusting the formula to account for inflation.
 
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