KILLEEN, Texas — Students across Central Texas are gearing up for the 2024-25 semester, and the new FAFSA website is supposed to be simpler to help get assistance, but the site is making it difficult to process.
Drew Woodard, the Coordinator for Office of Student’s Financial Assistance, said what the students are encountering is the site crashing in the middle of the application.
“Not being able to reenter the application after they’ve logged out or let’s say they’ve answered a question wrong by accident, it’s tough for them to go back and make the necessary changes,” Woodard said.
The site is now supposed to be simplified going from 100 questions to nearly 30. The financial aid coordinator said high school seniors may face more of a problem because they are new to the system.
Temple ISD shared this statement in regard to the changes.
"FAFSA launched a new online registration portal on December 30, 2023, that is designed to streamline and simplify the process of qualifying for student loans. The system has had a few glitches, but we have not received feedback from parents that they have been unable to submit applications. The deadline to submit for current HS seniors is June 30, 2024.”
Some tips when applying: You will need your social security number, identification, and access to tax documentation.
How you will proceed is based on how you answer the questions.
“A lot more students are going to be receiving Pell grants because of the way they have structured the math, if you will, of calculating the SEI and EFC, it gives the student a better chance of receiving free money as opposed to having to borrow," Woodard said.
Scholarships are not always available as it depends on grant funding.
Officials said when it comes to applying, the earlier you do it, the better.
Some colleges like Texas A&M Central Texas will be pushing back priority dates from January 15th to March 15th to help ease the stress of some students.
