College acceptance letters are starting to roll in, but this year a major glitch in the new application process for financial aid has brought the process to a halt.
The federal aid application is called FAFSA, and the new system isn't allowing many students to complete the online application.
"The current glitches right now primarily affect the students whose parents do not have a social security number," said Sonia Ramos with Cal-SOAP, an agency that helps first generation low-income students apply for financial aid.
But the glitch also created a backlog for some students whose parents do have a social security number, so many of those students haven’t gotten an answer either.
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"It is really scary," Ramos said. "It’s very frustrating. It's very scary with these looming deadlines."
The deadline for state aid, like the Cal Grant, is April 2.
There is hope those deadlines will be extended, but the uncertainty is affecting students and the colleges that are waiting for an answer.
"It has been very stressful," student Miriam Martinez said. "Like balancing school, it's almost the end of the year, so we have to keep up with our grades and everything. It has been very stressful to do all that."
Students and parents looking for answers should call 800-433-3245, email idverification@ed.gov or visit csac@ca.gov.
The Department of Education issued the following statement:
"When the 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form first became available, the U.S. Department of Education discovered an issue preventing contributors without a Social Security number (SSN) from starting or accessing the form. The Department previously committed to fixing the issue in the first half of March. The Department has made technical updates that enable students with contributors without an SSN to now successfully submit the form. Some students in this scenario, however, may still be encountering trouble submitting the form – the Department is aware of these issues and is working on resolutions. You can find more information here."
