Although the FAFSA is now officially open for students, many are still struggling with the aftereffects of the recent form change. After months of waiting for the FAFSA to officially open, there is still a hold for the unforeseen future. When the students opened their 2024-2025 FAFSA form, it should have said “processed”, however, there are still some issues holding the form from being sent out to colleges.
“We expect that online correction will be available in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check your FAFSA Submissions Summary to review your responses and see your eligibility information.” (Federal Student Aid)
While Federal Student Aid can give the student information about their estimated eligibility overview, the actual form cannot be successfully processed due to the errors mentioned on the page prior. These reported “errors” are due to a potentially inaccurate estimate given in conjunction with the students’ families’ taxes.
The US Department of Education released a press announcement stating that “We have worked closely with the IRS to assess the reports concerning incorrect tax data sent to schools on the Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) for 2024-25 FAFSA applications.”
In an interview with College and Career Advisor, Mr. Stone explained that this new FAFSA plan has been in the works for many years now and this just happened to be the year in which they enacted it. Out of the 6.6 million FAFSA forms, only about 10% of students have been affected. This is causing those 10% to have higher or lower estimates because of incorrect IRS information.
“This hold does not affect the Tennessee HOPE or Tennessee Promise applicants. The only thing that this is affecting is the Pell Grant and the Work Studies available,” Stone informed.
Senior Hailie McCanless explained, “It’s made scholarships and other college plans delayed, making the already difficult college decision more demanding.”
The corrections are hopefully to be completed within the next week. In a recent announcement, Mr. Stone explained that they are slowly sending out the revised forms in serval bathes over this week and next. There will be continual updates about the processing of the FAFSA in the coming weeks.
