College financial aid issues impact students | Real Time Headlines

Ramon Montiel-García, new high school graduate at KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy In Colorado, he was accepted into his top choice school, Wheaton College in Massachusetts.

However, with Price Montiel-Garcia, like many college hopefuls, needs nearly $80,000 a year, including tuition, fees, room and board financial aid to reduce costs.

But like his peers, Montiel-Garcia struggled with his new federal financial aid application.

Although his parents have lived in the United States since 2001, neither of them is undocumented and does not have a Social Security number, which is one of them. question troubling users Apply for Federal Student Aid for Free. Meanwhile, Montiel-Garcia had a backup plan.

His FAFSA application was finally accepted in late April — long after another application was launched in late December months-long delays. However, he said the aid package offered by Wheaton was not enough to make ends meet.

“I have to pay $11,000 a semester, which is still a lot of money for me and my family,” he said.

Montiel-Garcia did not attend Wheaton University, but instead attended the University of Colorado in nearby Denver. He plans to live at home to keep costs down.

“I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to go to that school, but maybe it was for the best,” he said.

Even in normal times, how students choose a college depends largely on the amount of aid available and the breakdown of grants, scholarships, work-study opportunities and opportunities. Student Loans.

However, by 2024, a botched federal financial services authority The rollout strengthens the critical role of aid in college selection. because question With the new form in place, financial aid award letters were delayed, and some high school students, like Montiel-Garcia, were unable to apply for any aid at all.

As of June 28, only 46% According to the National College Achievement Network (NCAN), of high school graduates have completed the FAFSA exam. A year ago, that number was 53%.

NCAN also found that filing the FAFSA was one of the best predictors of whether high school students would go on to college. Seniors who complete the FAFSA are 84% more likely According to NCAN’s study of 2013 data, students enter college directly after high school.

What the FAFSA does is gateway Of all federal aid funds, including loans, work-study, and grants, the latter is the most desirable aid because it usually does not need to be repaid.

“This year, we’re seeing greater concern about the cost of college than in years past,” said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review. Ranking colleges based on the amount of financial aid receivedTell CNBC. “The stress level is palpable.”

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higher education The cost is already beyond the reach of most families, and college Costs are still rising. For the 2023-2024 academic year, tuition, fees, room and board at four-year private colleges average $56,190; at four-year in-state public colleges, annual fees are $24,030. According to the College Board.

Expert predictions That question The new FAFSA will have a significant impact on admissions, although it’s initially unclear how much of a role it will play in decisions between schools.

The Ellucian study found that 44 percent of the 1,500 students surveyed said they would change their first choice school if an extra $5,000 in aid was provided.

“It’s a surprisingly small amount when you look at the total cost,” Ellucian chief executive Laura Ipsen said of the difference the award funding made in the decision-making process.

in previous years, Financial Aid Award Letter Offers of admission are issued at about the same time, meaning students have a few weeks to compare offers. National College Decision Daythe deadline for most admitted students to decide on college.

Due to widespread delays this year, some students will not receive final financial aid award letters until the end of August, the U.S. Department of Education said in a statement. Latest updates.

Andrea Garcia, 18, is still waiting for the letter, even though she already committed and paid a deposit to Emory University in Atlanta. Because her parents, like Montiel-Garcia’s, were undocumented, she said the aid application process was problematic from the start.

“My parents were very stressed, and in a way they felt a little guilty about the system,” she said.

For now, Garcia is still considering her exit options, which would involve living closer to her home in Denver: “If Emory doesn’t meet my financial needs, I’ll attend a full-service area school.”

Higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz said that because of such delays, some students may start the fall semester before they even have access to critical information about costs.

This also marks He said the Department of Education “acknowledged for the first time” that the FAFSA will not be fully operational until the start of the 2024-25 award year, which begins July 1.

Greenberg advises students he works with to explore other sources Merit Aidthe more the better.

For 18-year-old Ky-mani Murphy, it’s that approach that has made a difference.

The Riverdale Park, Md., high school graduate graduated from University of Maryland Aid Processing System Affordable and his top choice school: Towson University.

“I really want to go to Towson,” he said.

But after the school’s planned award for him was delayed and then fell short of his expectations, Murphy said he almost lost hope.

“At that point, I thought, ‘Wow, I might not be able to go to college,'” he said.

With the additional aid from the state, Murphy expects to join Towson’s freshman class this fall and plans to study computer science.

“I’m really grateful that I had the opportunity to attend a good university,” he said. “I’m really excited to see what’s coming.”

For most students, however, the impact of the FAFSA is on top of already existing problems. The complex college admissions season and worries Student Loans Forced to compromise.

Chase Hartman, 18, said from the beginning that he was more focused on scholarships than the college application itself. Despite this, the recent graduate was accepted to 17 schools, including his first choice, Duke.

“I did get accepted to Duke, but I only got a one-year scholarship,” he said. Ultimately, this is the deciding factor.

Hartman, who is from Tampa, Florida, is eligible for the state’s Bright Futures College Scholarship Program as well as lombardi award, which brought his in-state cost of attending the University of Florida to essentially zero. He will start there in the fall.

“I didn’t want to take on too much debt in my undergraduate education because I was also considering going to law school or getting an MBA,” he said.