The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a student aid program created by the U.S. Department of Education in 1994. Students have the opportunity to apply for funds to contribute to college and graduate school. Once an application that could have as many as 108 questions, FAFSA has been diminished to as few as 18 questions. This was supposed to allow more students to be able to apply. As soon as this update was released, however, hundreds of thousands of applications had been lost, and the number of them had dwindled because of the platform’s variety of delays. Delays are responsible for many students’ necessity to hold off on their decisions and to not be able to afford larger schools’ tuition costs. These delays have been said to be caused by the “large volume of applications” and accounting for rising inflation.

Although the Department of Education is currently making efforts to resolve this issue, many students are doubtful of their ability to do so. They are still waiting on the notification for financial aid as the “go-ahead” to choose their school, leading to the jeopardization of many students’ futures. Instead of choosing their dream school, they choose one that they are only able to afford with financial aid.

For students who are applying to colleges without securing funds, it is already a very stressful time. FAFSA gains its money from federal tax dollars paid for by citizens of the United States. As a taxpayer, you would want the taxes that you do pay to be put to good use. You wouldn’t want your money to be pocketed by the government or “lost” in transactions. You would instead prefer for that money to be easily accessible for students in need of financial aid so that they can invest in themselves and their education.

Overall, I believe that the delays with FAFSA are only slightly threatening students’ visions for their future; they are attempting to discourage students from attending big colleges in favor of smaller, more affordable ones. However, it is important for students to apply for as many scholarships as they can in order to secure the funds necessary for higher education. Instead of doubting your ability to get into your dream college, it is important to persist in the application process and to stay faithful to yourself. You are worth investing in. You have to believe that this delay in financial aid isn’t a setback; it is setting you up to become all that you were meant to be.