TRI-CITIES, Wash. – The federal Department of Education has changed the free application for federal student aid or FAFSA for the 2024-2025 school year.
The changes are intended to make the process easier, according to the Federal Student Aid website, but have slowed down when colleges get student results. The application, which opened in October in years past, opened on December 31, 2023, and won’t be sending information to colleges until late January 2024.
Richland High School Senior, Connor Hughes, said he is waiting for the Department of Education to send out what he’s submitted to colleges.
“I haven’t been able to get any information on financial aid for any of my colleges yet, and I have to know what college I need to go to by May. And so, like it is delaying my decision a little bit,” Hughes said.
He also said during its soft launch the times the FAFSA website was available made it difficult for his parents to complete their part after work.
“It is really stressful at times, especially when you can’t find all the information you need right away and like having to wait and trying to find everything. It can be a bit stressful at times, but it is definitely a lot easier when you have help,” Lilianna Arquette, another Senior at Richland High School, said.
Melanie Casciato, Director for Student Recruitment at Columbia Basin College, recommends asking for help and being ready with the information the FAFSA asks for.
“So, we encourage students and families to gather their 2022 earnings and tax information for those that have social security numbers, make sure that they have that with them as they prepare to file that application,” Casciato said.
CBC will host several financial aid workshops over the next few months to help students looking to apply to any college. A registration form is available here.
“We want to eliminate or mitigate as much stress as we can in the process. So, if a student experiences issues specifically on the FAFSA application, pause, save where you’re at, and circle back at one of those events where you can get some professional help,” Casciato said.
Casciato said she recommends getting it in as soon as possible even if the information won’t get sent out immediately.
