By Bella Aldrete and Sara Ruberg —
NBC News
Alma Rodríguez has been trying for months to submit her son's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form online.
Despite searching for alternative ways on the website, she was unable to complete it.
Many parents filling out FAFSA forms for their college-bound children have encountered technical glitches, a downed website and months-long delays due to formula errors and other setbacks, in an application process the government hoped to simplify. with a review this year.
[What is FAFSA financial aid and how can students benefit from it?]
But Rodriguez hasn't even had a chance to navigate those technical hurdles because he doesn't have a Social Security number, which until recently had prevented him from even creating an online account with the Federal Student Aid office, a crucial first step for submit the application.
“We've been very, very stressed,” Rodriguez said of herself and her son, Andre Pintor, who is a U.S. citizen and now faces fast-approaching deadlines to decide where he will attend college next fall.
“Not just us as parents,” she added, “but also our children.”
About 5.7 million people have already filed FAFSA forms this year, the Department of Education estimates, down about 35% from the same days last year, according to the
National College Attainment Network (NCAN)
, which advises students on post-secondary education.
Without completing a FAFSA application, students cannot receive financial aid packages from the Government or their future schools.
Many will receive that information later than usual this year.
The updated FAFSA system was intended to make applying for aid easier, in part by connecting IRS data with Department of Education forms for the first time.
In previous years, applications included many more questions and many required data had to be entered manually.
Despite the complexity, families typically received their federal aid estimates within days or even hours of submitting them.
[New FAFSA aid application launched three months later than expected]
However, with the failed reform, even some parents who were able to apply say it is taking months to receive aid.
And instead of becoming easier and more efficient, this year's process has led some applicants to turn to each other for support.
Rodriguez said she connected with others in a Spanish-speaking Facebook group to try to move forward.
“If I'm really honest, I'm really worried,” said Rodríguez, who moved to the United States 22 years ago from Mexico City to ensure her son had access to higher education.
She works in a cleaning service in an apartment building.
Some sites promise help filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, but the Department of Education warns of scams.Getty Images
Andre has an older brother, but he would be the first in his family to attend college, where he plans to study biology in hopes of becoming a doctor, Rodriguez said.
But he can't pay the tuition without financial aid.
“I haven't allowed myself to think that he won't be able to go to college,” she said, adding that she has already talked to him about the possibility of attending community college if she can't get enough federal aid.
That would force him to reapply and later transfer to an institution with a four-year curriculum.
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The problems arose from the first day the updated version of the FAFSA was released, on December 30.
When applications opened, many parents who logged in said they had to wait hours, sometimes days, just to get on the website.
Some managed to overcome the rulings, but those without Social Security numbers had no way to proceed initially.
Now, after officials resolved some issues, many parents and guardians were able to verify their identities, but others are still stuck.
Some note that they cannot link their accounts to their child's application form or that they cannot add their signature.
The delays have left many families in limbo who are eager to make deposits with schools and apply for other aid that requires first completing the FAFSA.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, spoke during a press conference about problems with the implementation of the FAFSA, Thursday, February 1, 2024. Mariam Zuhaib / AP
Adding to these challenges, NCAN officials say, is the fact that some households have had difficulty finding interpreters to help them at the Federal Student Aid office.
While FAFSA forms come in both English and Spanish, parents who speak other languages do not have alternative options.
The Department of Education said in a statement that it is aware of recent rulings that prevent people without Social Security numbers from starting or accessing the FAFSA.
The department has made updates that allow some people to complete their applications, but acknowledged that other problems remain and said it is working to resolve those that are still causing delays.
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Depending on where parents and students are in the process, officials recommend different courses of action.
Rodríguez said they told him to wait and that a solution would come soon.
More partial fixes were released last weekend, said MorraLee Keller, NCAN senior director of strategic programming, but their effectiveness may vary from applicant to applicant. “What will be confusing for families is understanding where in the process they are they find,” he said.
“The confusing question for families now is how to finish what they started.”
Free Application for Federal Student Aid FAFSA is shown in the image using the text.Getty Images
Elizabeth Ortiz's son, Ulises, is in his second year studying kinesiology at El Paso Community College, but hopes to transfer to the University of Texas at El Paso this fall.
Although her son is a U.S. citizen, Ortiz, a resident of Juárez, Mexico, said she has spent more than three months waiting to receive help with the application.
He was able to confirm his identity with the agency last weekend, but has not yet been able to submit the FAFSA form in its entirety, he said.
Sending his son to UTEP would cost more than double what his family pays for community college, Ortiz said, and he fears Ulises will have to work harder than he does now to pay for a four-year school.
“We spent days trying, hours waiting for someone to answer every call,” he said.
“It's pretty frustrating.”