‘Potential chaos’
“While we wish the FAFSA opening date had been earlier, we support end-to-end testing to ensure products released on December 1 are appropriate for students, families and schools,” said Beth, interim president and CEO of the National Food Safety Authority. Maglione said.
While “testing and increased availability will help,” higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz said he was skeptical the department would be able to address all challenges during this time.
“Two months is not a lot of time to implement change,” Kantrowitz said.
“A key concern is that they don’t appear to have any issues with their performance, and this beta test is primarily an opportunity to build confidence in a flawless system,” he added.
“Even without last year’s FAFSA fiasco, Murphy’s Law shows that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. If beta testing is not planned correctly, chaos is guaranteed,” Kantrowitz said.
Financial aid key during rising costs
For many families, Financial aid is critical Pay for collegenow close to $100,000 One year.
What the FAFSA does is gateway All federal aid funds, including federal student Loans, work-study, and especially grants—these have become the most important types of aid because they typically do not need to be repaid.
Due in part to problems with the new form, students now rely on loan More, according to recent reports from Sallie Mae How to Pay for College in the U.S. Report. The share of parents applying for federal Parent PLUS loans to help pay for their children’s college education also increased, others Research shows.
To that end, most experts say, it’s more important that the FAFSA be fully operational next year, even if it means delaying its launch again.
According to the National College Attainment Network, submitting the FAFSA is one of the best predictors of whether high school students will 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.
“The department’s testing plan is a critical step,” said Elizabeth Morgan, a spokesperson for the National College Score Network.
“Next year, we must recover and exceed previous FAFSA completion rates so that more students can take advantage of Pell Grants and continue their education after high school,” Morgan added.
