Students can now apply for federal college aid. Officials are hoping for a smoother launch this year

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal FAFSA form used to apply for financial aid for college opened to high school graduates nationwide Thursday, one year after a disastrous launch by the Biden administration delayed enforcement for months.

After weeks of testing, the Department for Education says there have been no major problems with the online form. It opens to the public later than the traditional October 1 start date, but much earlier than last year’s late January release. The department has promised this year’s form by December 1.

“After months of hard work and lots of feedback from students, schools and other stakeholders, we can say with confidence that the FAFSA is working and will serve as the gateway to college and affordability for millions of students,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona , Thursday. .

Through four rounds of testing, more than 140,000 students submitted the form and their information was sent to more than 5,200 colleges, the department said.

An overhaul last year was intended to simplify the notoriously complex form, but technical issues prevented students from submitting forms or messed up the calculations.

The federal government uses students’ applications to determine their eligibility for financial aid, and colleges and states use it to do so award their own scholarships. The delays left the students wondering how much financial aid they might receive, a crucial factor for many families.

Lawyers say that frustration probably led thousands of students to give up going to college at all. This fall, U.S. colleges saw a 5 percent drop in freshman enrollment from the previous year, and it was deeper at colleges with large numbers of low-income students, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.

The Department of Education said it has fixed last year’s problems and has hired an additional 700 call center workers to help families if they have problems submitting the form.

This week, the Senate and House unanimously passed legislation requiring the Department of Education to make the FAFSA available by October 1st.

The Biden administration has drawn bipartisan scorn over its handling of the update, with Republicans accusing the administration of focusing on student loan cancellation at the expense of the FAFSA form.

The revision came after Congress passed legislation in 2020 to simplify the form. The Department of Education was ordered to reduce the number of questions from more than 100 to about 40 and change the formula to extend aid to more students.

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