New FAFSA is creating headaches for students and schools in Berks

May 13—It was supposed to be easier, it was supposed to be simpler.

But for many students and families trying to fill out the new, "better" Federal Application For Student Aid this year, that hasn't been the case.

The U.S. Department of Education rolled out a new version of the FAFSA, the form used by college students to apply for federal student financial aid, in hopes of streamlining the often arduous process. The application is now shorter, featuring just 36 questions, with a large amount of the information needed to complete it being pulled directly from income tax returns.

In theory, the new form is a vast improvement that makes applying for federal student aid less of a headache. In practice, the changes have made things much more difficult for many.

The rollout has been fraught with problems. Students have had difficulties accessing the FAFSA website, they've been unable to revisit their forms to make corrections or additions and there have been delays getting information from the applications to schools.

The new FASFA was also released later than it typically is, coming out Dec. 31 as opposed to the traditional October 1.

In short, things have been a bit of a disaster. And that includes for students and schools in Berks County.

"They made a mess of this," Dr. Steven St. Onge, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at Kutztown University, said of the U.S. Department of Education.

St. Onge said he is disappointed the federal government decided to introduce a new FAFSA late and without first making sure it would work smoothly.

"If you want to roll something like this out, roll it out early," he said. "And you should beta test it."

Local college officials say one of the results of the problems with the new FASFA is that fewer students are completing applications. St. Onge said that across Pennsylvania there are about 25% fewer students who have submitted FAFSA applications than at this time last year.

Mary-Alice Ozechoski, senior vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at Alvernia University, said she believes the bugs in the new FAFSA system have led some students to simply forgo plans to head to college in the fall.

"What's happening is a kind of signaling," she said. "Kids might be unsure about going to college, and then they try to fill out their FAFSA and they can't access the site or they can't get back into their form to make corrections, that's signaling to them that they're not college material.

"I think it's the perfect storm. The problems with FAFSA just adds to the narrative that college isn't worth it. This is just another additional barrier for students."

Ozechoski said that narrative isn't true, that a college degree does, in fact, have a tremendous amount of value. But for some students, the hassle of trying to fill out a FAFSA is keeping them from pursing one.

"For us, it's concerning," she said. "We pride ourselves on our mission to serve the underserved, and this is making that mission more difficult."

Students who have managed to complete the new FAFSA are also facing challenges, waiting longer to find out what their financial aid packages will look like because of delays in the FAFSA process of getting information to colleges. Local officials said they didn't get information from applications needed to put together aid packages until April.

That's particularly a problem for students planning to enroll in college for the first time this fall, as a lack of financial aid information makes it tough to pick a school.

"I think we're seeing the same thing ever other school in the country is seeing, students are waiting to get their packages from all of the schools they've applied to," said Erica Pulaski, director of enrollment at Penn State Berks. "And that has meant we've had less students committing to us early."

Local college officials said it makes sense that students would put off picking a school until they get their financial aid information. Cost, after all, is a big factor in the world of higher education.

"Ultimately, a student wants to know the sticker price," St. Onge said. "You wouldn't buy a vehicle without having the full information about what it will cost. Why would you commit to higher education without knowing the cost?"

Ozechoski said much the same, sharing the same car-buying analogy.

"Cost matters to most families," she said, adding that she feels bad for the students having to delay their college selection. "What student really wants to go to their high school graduation in the next few weeks and not know where they're going in the fall? These kids came into high school during COVID, and it's really unfortunate that this is how it's ending for them — all this uncertainty."

Fortunately, local college officials said aid packages have already gone out or will go out within a week to students who have completed the FAFSA.

St. Onge said Wednesday that Kutztown had already sent out aid packages to about 6,000 prospective students, with the rest expected to be sent out by the end of the week.

Pulaski said Wednesday that Penn State Berks had gotten aid packages out to all prospective students who had filed a completed FAFSA. But, she added, she thinks the issues with the FAFSA might impact the size of this fall's incoming class.

"I think it probably will impact enrollment for the fall," she said. "Just because everything is happening so late. Some families might just say forget it and take a year off."

To give students a bit more time to consider those package, some colleges — included some in Berks — have extended their deadlines for incoming freshman to commit to attending.

Ozechoski said Alvernia has extended its new student deadline to June 1 — as has Kutztown — with hopes of boosting enrollment numbers.

"We're hoping to have a surge from now until June 1," she said, adding that as of the start of last week Alvernia only had completed FAFSA forms from 1,500 of its 3,300 accepted students.

Ozechoski also said she hopes to see an uptick in submitted FAFSA forms from current students, many of whom have also not filed their applications. Since they're likely not choosing between different schools and instead returning to the one they're already attending, many have opted to wait out the problems with the new FAFSA.

"I think we're seeing people who are delaying because they've heard all the chatter and want to wait until things are cleared up," she said.

While local colleges wait — for information from the U.S. Department of education and for students to complete their applications — they've been making efforts to help make the process easier.

School officials said their enrollment and financial aid offices have been working overtime to provide students and their families with as much information and assistance as possible to help them navigate the fraught application system.

Ozechoski said Alvernia has hired extra staff and added evening office hours to make sure experts are available to provide guidance. The school has also offered to send staff to local high schools as a way to make getting assistance easier for students and families.

"Collectively, I think all schools are willing to sit with families to help them," she said. "We just want people to know that the institutions in the community are here, that there are resources here.

"There's no shame in picking up the phone and saying I want to choose Alvernia but I need some help."

St. Onge said he and the rest of the staff at KU understand what students and families are going through, and they want to help as best they can.

"We can sympathize," he said. "We know this is tough, this is cumbersome, but we're here to walk you through it."

Hopefully, St. Onge added, the difficulties students and families are facing are short-lived.

"The goal was to make the FAFSA streamlined and easier for the users, and I think that's a great goal," he said. "So, hopefully, we're having a one-year trial period and things will work more smoothly in the future.

"I have my fingers crossed."