A fix for FAFSA fiasco helps students apply
The high school students who have been hardest hit by the federal government’s botched overhaul of its college financial aid application now have a workaround to receive state grants — but not federal money — California education officials announced Tuesday.
The government’s recent effort to streamline the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, created a glitch that left tens of thousands of high school seniors in California and across the country unable to complete their applications.
The students most often blocked are citizens and legal residents whose parents have no Social Security number.
Students need the FAFSA to apply for federal Pell grants. The California Student Aid Commission also uses those applications to determine students’ eligibility for state aid, known as Cal Grants.
Now, first-time applicants who can’t fill out their FAFSA can apply for state aid separately, using the California Dream Act Application “as a short-term measure until they are able to access and complete a FAFSA,” the student aid commission and the state’s three public secondary school systems — the University of California, California State University and the California Community Colleges — jointly announced. May 2 is the deadline. “Making sure all students can access the financial aid they are entitled to is at the heart of what we do,” said Marlene Garcia, executive director of the student aid commission.
Students applying to UC, which costs more than the state’s other public campuses, typically win the most lucrative Cal Grants, which award up to $15,400 this year. Grants for CSU can be up to $7,390, while aid to attend a community college is less than $2,000.
“Mixed (immigration) status students must still complete the FAFSA to access their federal financial aid awards, including Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, Federal WorkStudy, and subsidized federal student loans,” according to the joint statement.
Education officials are urging students to try to fill out the FAFSA, and noted that the federal government “has made progress” in fixing an array of problems that still plague the process. They said additional help can be found at this federal student aid site.
Bay Area high school counselors who have trying for months to help frustrated students fill out their applications — and to calm nervous applicants who worry they won’t be able to afford school next fall — gave Tuesday’s announcement mixed reviews.
“I’m glad Gov. Newsom and the state are being proactive with the FAFSA fiasco,” said John Moreno, a counselor at Balboa High in San Francisco. “However, the solution still ignores federal aid for students impacted by the delays.”
The maximum federal Pell Grant this year is $7,395.
“That’s money students aren’t going to receive,” he said.
Yet, state education officials appeared proud of the workaround for students caught in this year’s snafu.
Using the Dream Act application “will preserve access and support for students transferring from community college to a four-year college or university in the fall,” California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian said in the joint statement.
CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia added that her system “will continue to remain as flexible as possible for these students.”
UC “will continue to advocate for full access to the FAFSA and all federal financial aid for our students from mixed-status families,” said UC President Michael Drake.