By Jacob Garza
The 2024-25 FAFSA application is officially open for business after a confusing and error-ridden delay.
The Department of Education issued a soft launch on Dec. 30 before its federally authorized date of Jan. 1.
Although, the launch was met with major difficulties as the form was unavailable for frustrated students.
With all these obstacles being fixed, the form was officially relaunched on Jan. 6.
A list of issues from the DOE shows some of the major errors the application had including the FSA ID account and retrieving past information from previous forms.
Tina Baskin, executive director of financial aid and enrollment, said she was optimistic before the launch and now is anticipating for the office to receive multiple requests for assistance from students when filling out the form.
“We have been getting questions for assisting students on the application,” Baskin said. “Thus far, the process has not been a good one due to the delays. The form is still in its soft launch, and we will not have the official application until the end of January.”
The new FAFSA is designed to be easier for students and parents to fill out because of fewer questions.
A part of this change is for more low-income students to qualify for larger Pell Grants.
“This is part of the methodology of the Student Aid Index,” Baskin said. “This is a replacement for the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) and will help estimate the cost of assistance given to the student.”
However, the financial aid department staff are expected to see many applications in a short period of time due to the delay.
Mark Titzer, vice president of finance and administration, said he is sympathetic for the students and staff of the financial aid department dealing with the difficult process.
“Our university depends on the application,” he said. “We hope that this major rehaul will be the last for a while.”
Baskin and the staff of financial aid do have a plan when the applications come through.
“We have a plan in place every year,” Baskin explained. “We will prioritize what is important first. We want to ensure that our webpage is fluent and giving up-to-date information for students.”
She also stated that students should visit Dominican’s Office of Financial Aid webpage, along with the Department of Education for up-to-date information.
Sofia Alessandrini, a junior double majoring in graphic design and English, talked about her difficulties with the application form.
“I started it over winter break and the screen said ‘error’,” she said. “After trying multiple times, I just shut my laptop down and decided to do it another time.”
