Less affluent students showed a decrease in college financial aid applications following the faulty launch of the FAFSA process.
Submitting the form is crucial to secure access to federal Pell grants, student loans, and other financial aid for college. The lack of financial assistance can make higher education an unattainable dream for certain students.
As of August 25, there was a 3% decrease in FAFSA submissions, or a total of 432,000 fewer submissions, according to a recent study conducted by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The decrease in applications was most significant among families with incomes between $30,001 and $48,000, as well as individuals earning $30,000 or less.
The GAO reported its initial findings at a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on Tuesday.
Both Democrats and Republicans have been critical of the Department of Education's handling of the new FAFSA release.
Rep. Burgess Owens, a Utah Republican and chair of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, expressed concern, calling it "unacceptable" and stating that the Biden-Harris administration had left many students and families in the dark.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat and ranking member of the subcommittee, agreed that the rollout of the updated FAFSA had been derailed by errors from the Department of Education.
The Department of Education released its own analysis, stating that as of September 20, there was only a 2% decrease in FAFSA submissions compared to the previous year. However, they acknowledged that lower-income applicants were still lagging behind.
Despite this, students can still submit the FAFSA to get financial aid for the current academic year, though they would likely have decided on enrollment by then.
The GAO found that students had approximately 100 fewer days to complete the FAFSA this year. Additionally, about 75% of calls to the Department of Education's call center went unanswered during the initial five months of the rollout due to insufficient staffing.
The FAFSA update was mandated by Congress to be released by 2024 and aimed to simplify the application process. However, the rollout was marred by delays, technical issues, and administrative mistakes, causing the form to be made available three months later than the usual October 1 date.
Many students had not received their financial aid award letters by May 1, which is traditionally when colleges require students to decide on fall enrollment. At that time, FAFSA completions among high school seniors had fallen by 29% compared to the previous class at the same point last year, according to the National College Attainment Network.
Now, for first-time applicants, including those who graduated in the spring, submissions are down by about 8.5%. In response, the Department of Education has decided to release the 2025-2026 FAFSA in stages, allowing only a limited number of students and families to access it on the traditional October 1 launch date for a testing phase, with the form becoming available to all on December 1.
The ongoing politics surrounding the release of the FAFSA form has led to criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, with Representative Burgess Owens calling it "unacceptable". Due to technical issues and delays, the form was made available three months later than usual, affecting the timeline for students to secure financial aid for higher education.
