PHOENIX — College Decision Day is quickly approaching, but many students still don't know where they can afford to go to school in the fall.
Financial aid awards are significantly delayed after technical glitches plagued the online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
All three public Arizona universities delayed their priority deadline for FAFSA applications to May 1 to accommodate students experiencing issues.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) rolled out a new, simplified version of FAFSA for the 2024-2025 school year. The online application was made available three months late, on December 31, 2023.
Technical issues clogging the system have made the application a headache for some families.
"It's not a better form," Lora Stolz, a Surprise parent, said. "It's very difficult. It's not an easy page to navigate through."
Students and parents found a variety of issues, including signature verification and social security number recognition.
Stolz told 12News it took her three months to complete the form due to the issues.
“It didn’t allow for parent signature. So, from January all the way 'til April, I was trying to add the signature because they kept saying, that was the issue, that was the issue, that was the issue. Couldn’t do it until last Thursday," Stolz said.
Many students don't know how much financial aid they'll be receiving in the fall.
Another setback came after the ED sent incorrect FAFSA data to universities nationwide.
“Financial aid offices have been having to wait for that information to be reprocessed to ensure they’re getting correct, corrected files from student aid so that way that student gets matched up with eligible aid that they qualify for," Julie Sainz, FAFSA Director at the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), said.
Arizona ranks 49th in the nation for FAFSA completion.
About 18,000 high school seniors have completed the application so far this year, according to ABOR.
“That’s actually down about 41 percent compared to the last year at this time," Sainz said.
There are efforts to raise the completion rate. Gov. Katie Hobbs is giving $500,000 of federal funding to ABOR to increase resources, workshops and initiatives.
“They do have those supports in place to complete the application no matter what stage that they’re in the form," Sainz said.
Students can apply to FAFSA at anytime, but are encouraged to complete the application as soon as possible.
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