New Student Financial Aid Form’s Glitches Causing Delays Amid Hectic Rollout Process

Inflation increases and changes to family contributions cause some middle class families to receive less aid than in previous years.

The Department of Education Washington on July 22, 2019. Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images

The rollout of the newly revamped 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has been mired by glitches, delays, and limited availability since it was released on Dec. 30, 2023.

Students, parents, and school administrators are left with website functions that do not always work, limited windows of time when they can edit applications, and delays with the call center that leave some on hold for hours—if they are lucky enough to reach a real person.