Dear The Federal Government of the United States,
Where is my money?
If you are not already aware; this year, the FAFSA, AKA the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, opened months behind schedule, with a soft launch opening on December 30th when normally it would open for October 1st.
This is a major issue, as not only the FAFSA is a way to get student aid towards tuition, it is also used by colleges to determine the amount of financial aid awarded to accepted students.
This delay caused a major domino effect that pushed back the dates students discovered the amount of financial aid that would be awarded to them by colleges. This ultimately puts more strain on students to quickly decide on what college they will be attending, as May 1st, College Decision Day is the date most colleges require accepted students to make a final decision.
Luckily, there have been calls to push back the typical May 1st decision date to provide some convenience and breathing room for families to make difficult and very important financial decisions.
On the other hand, this botched FAFSA opening could further fuel the recent gradual decline in college enrollment caused by declining numbers of high school seniors and rising tuition rates.
According to Pew Research, the decline in the total number of 18 to 24-year-olds enrolled in college since 2011 is 1.2 million. About 1 million of them are men, who now make up 44% of total college students, a 3% decline from the year 2011.
What is The Cause of The Delay?
The delay in the FAFSA was the result of a Congress mandate made around 3 years that ordered the application and process of the FAFSA to be simplified, however…
What Has The Process Been Like?
The process to file a FAFSA for the 2024-25 academic year was anything but simple. The FAFSA opened with a soft launch, leaving parents and anxious teens only 30 minutes to fill out their forms for the entire 1st day. Finding a time to file the FAFSA after those first initial days was also challenging thanks to frequent “maintenance checks” that stopped anyone from working on their forms.
I was fortunate enough to have my form completed on the second, but to see my form remain in the review stage as I anxiously wait to see how much financial assistance I will receive is stressful. Yet, I can find solace in knowing that more than 3.1 million students, according to the Department of Education, are also in the same predicament.
Sincerely,
Jacob Moquin
P.S. I appreciate your money, I’ll take anything I can get to pay off my future veterinary school debt of $150,000+