News
College financial aid issues impacted students
Ramon Montiel-García, 18, graduate of KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy in Colorado.
Credit: Ramon Montiel-García
But like his colleagues, Montiel-García struggled with the new application for federal financial aid.
Although her parents have lived in the US since 2001, they are both undocumented and do not have Social Security numbers, which was one of the many problems that persecuted users of Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Meanwhile, Montiel-García has perfected a plan B.
His FAFSA application was finally accepted in late April — well after it was released in late December, following another months delay. Still, he said the aid package he received from Wheaton wasn’t enough to survive.
“I would have to pay $11,000 per semester, which is still a lot of money for me and my family,” he said.
Instead of attending Wheaton, Montiel-García enrolled at the nearby University of Colorado at Denver. He plans to live at home to keep costs down.
“I’m kind of disappointed that I couldn’t go to that school, but maybe it was for the best,” he said.
Even in normal years, students’ choice of college depends largely on the amount of financial aid offered and the breakdown between grants, scholarships, work-study opportunities, and student loans.
However, in 2024, a failure FAFSA implementation has increased the critical role of aid in college choices. Because of problems With the new form, financial aid award letters were delayed, and some high school seniors like Montiel-García had difficulty applying for any aid at all.
On June 28th, only 46% of new high school graduates have completed the FAFSA, according to the National College Attainment Network, or NCAN. A year ago, that number was 53 percent.
Submitting a FAFSA is one of the best predictors of whether a high school senior will go to college, NCAN also found. Seniors who complete the FAFSA are 84% more likely enroll in college right after high school, according to an NCAN study of 2013 data.
The FAFSA serves as the gate to all federal aid money, including loans, work-study, and grants, the latter being the most desirable type of assistance because it typically does not have to be repaid.
About three-quarters, or 76%, of students said the amount of financial aid awarded to them and the overall financial aid process were the main motivators in their choice of where to attend college, according to a survey conducted by Ellucian and EMI Research Solutions in March.
This goes beyond parental influence, location, campus culture — and even the degree programs offered.
“This year, we’re seeing much deeper concerns about college costs than we’ve seen in the last two years,” said Robert Franek, editor in chief of The Princeton Review, who recently colleges ranked by amount of financial aid awardedcounted CNBC“There is a level of stress that is palpable.”
More about Personal Finance:
The Best Private and Public Colleges for Financial Aid
Harvard is back on top as the dream school
More of the nation’s top colleges implement no-loan policies
University education already costs more than most families can afford, and college costs are still rising. Tuition and fees, plus room and board, for a private four-year college averaged $56,190 in the 2023–2024 academic year; for a public four-year in-state college, it averaged $24,030 per year. according to the College Board.
Experts predicted what problems with the new FAFSA it would weigh heavily on enrollment, although it was initially unclear what role it would play in decisions between schools.
Ellucian’s study found that 44 percent of the 1,500 students surveyed said they would switch schools if they received just $5,000 more in aid.
“It’s a surprisingly small amount when you look at the total cost,” Ellucian CEO Laura Ipsen said of the difference the prize money made in the decision-making process.
The challenge this year “was not just about the financial aid piece, which is huge, but comparing different offers coming in at different times,” said Eric Greenberg, president of the Greenberg Educational Group, a New York-based consulting firm. “That had a big impact on how people made decisions.”
In previous years, financial aid award letters were sent out at about the same time as admission letters, meaning students had several weeks to compare offers before National College Decision Daythe deadline for most accepted students to decide on a college.
Due to this year’s extensive backlog, some students will not receive their final financial aid award letter until late August, the U.S. Department of Education said in a statement. recent update.
Andrea Garcia, 18, is still waiting for the letter, even though she has already committed to Emory University in Atlanta — and put down a deposit. Because her parents, like Montiel-García’s, are also undocumented, she said the aid application process was problematic from the start.
“My parents were very stressed and in some ways felt kind of guilty because of the system,” she said.
For now, Garcia is still considering an alternative, which involves staying closer to home in Denver: “If Emory doesn’t meet my financial needs, I will enroll in a regional school that offers full scholarships.”
Because of these delays, some students may even start the fall semester before they get important information about how much it will cost, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
This also marks “the first admission” from the Education Department that the FAFSA will not be fully functional until after the start of the 2024-25 school year, which began July 1, he said.
Greenberg advises the students he works with to explore other sources of merit-based aidas much as possible.
For Ky-mani Murphy, 18, this approach was what made the difference.
The Riverdale Park, Maryland, high school senior secured sufficient additional funding from the Maryland College Aid Processing System to pay for his first choice school: Towson University.
“I really wanted to go to Towson,” he said.
But after the award he received from the school was delayed and fell short of expectations, Murphy said he had almost given up hope.
“At that moment, I thought, ‘Wow, my college trip might not work out,'” he said.
With additional help from the state, Murphy is on track to join Towson’s freshman class this fall with plans to study computer science.
“I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to go to a good college,” he said. “I’m really excited to see what happens.”
For most students, however, the consequences of the FAFSA add to an already existing situation. Tricky College Admissions Season and concerns about student loans forced a compromise.
From the beginning, Chase Hartman, 18, said he was more focused on scholarships than on college applications. Still, the recent graduate was accepted to 17 schools, including his top choice, Duke University.
“I was accepted to Duke, but I only got scholarships for one year,” he said. Ultimately, that was the deciding factor.
Hartman, who is from Tampa, Florida, qualified for the state’s Bright Futures college scholarship program, as well as a Lombardi Awardwhich reduced his in-state cost of attendance at the University of Florida to virtually zero. He will start there in the fall.
“I didn’t want to take on too much debt for my undergrad degree because I’m also thinking about going to law school or getting an MBA,” he said.