FAFSA delays high school seniors’ college decisions

Taylor Morris
·2 min read

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As high school seniors are starting to decide where they will spend their college career, many are still waiting to make that final decision because the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is delayed.

“This is the first time that FAFSA has made significant changes,” said Melanie Mulder, assistant director of financial aid at Ferris State University.

According to Mulder, FAFSA reduced the application questions by about two-thirds this year, in hopes of making the process easier for students and parents.

“Overall, the changes seem to be well-received,” said Mulder. “They do seem to be easier, but those sweeping changes have caused technical issues. The software just wasn’t ready to handle the volumes.”

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What’s supposed to be an exciting time for many students as they decide which college to attend is now diluted because of the uncertainty of whether or not they will receive the financial aid needed to enroll.

“As this was rolling out, we were informed that there would be some delays going on in the process, and getting the FAFSAs, or having students and families file, and the delays continued to keep coming,” said Michelle Rhodes, associate vice president for financial aid at Grand Valley State University.

“From a national standpoint, the FAFSA typically opens on Oct. 1, preceding the academic year for next fall. This year, the FAFSA opened on Dec. 31, and when it opened, it wasn’t working efficiently or correctly,” explained Mulder.

According to Mulder, it’s not as much of a problem for continuing students as it is for those still in high school waiting to commit to a university or college.

She also said FAFSA rates across the country are down this year due to the fact that many students are waiting until the issues are resolved.

One student News 8 spoke to, who is currently a senior in high school, said the biggest challenge is having to wait to make the decision.

“Continuing students, we don’t typically award them financially for next year until June after our spring grades post, so it doesn’t impact our continuing students as much as those perspective students that are waiting for financial aid information to make their college choices,” said Mulder.

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