Going to College Pays Off...or Does It?
The Pony Express Editorial Board
The Pony Express Editorial Board
The college process. One of the many joys and the many stresses of a student’s senior year. The college application deadlines have well since passed. While we wait for our decisions, seniors must take their next step and fill out the application for a chance to get financial aid. Unfortunately for us, the soft launch of the FAFSA has been a steaming hot mess.
With the reformatting of the FAFSA, it has come with its highs and its lows. Instead of spending hours filling out the application with over a hundred questions, the time has been cut short graciously with only 36 questions needing to be answered. And yet, it's ironic how the glitches on the website that happened while answering questions or creating FSA IDs have further prolonged the completion of the application.
It's quicker, it's easier, but is it better? In terms of finances, our editorial board would have to disagree. Some of us are looking at private schools, some of us are looking at UCs, and we all have siblings. The last part definitely affects our different family situations and how the money gets split. But with the FAFSA doing away with their sibling discount, extra aid given for each sibling in college, it really lowers the available money we can get.
Having a single parent paying all of the bills can bring hardship compared to those who have financial support from both parents, which means that students in those situations are at a disadvantage already without the addition of the FAFSA miscalculation.
Students have the very likely possibility of receiving less financial aid from the federal government as upticks in inflation were not taken into consideration when budgeting for this year’s application. This should not be downplayed as FAFSA is supposed to be the federal government helping students pay for their college expenses, and yet, this little miscalculation messes with our futures and shows an even larger incompetence on their part.
The delay of the opening of FAFSA has also impacted many students because it makes it a little more difficult to get the FAFSA done in time. Even though the opening changed from October to December, some schools such as the University of Southern California didn’t change their deadline to adjust to the delay. As the FAFSA deadline is much later, it could mess up students’ acceptance and decisions when it comes to where they will go after high school. This unforeseen situation makes it unfair since many students have prepared for college decisions and this extra obstacle sets them back.
Delayed releases, glitches in the system, confusing questions and a quite major miscalculation of money set aside for financial aid is all a gross mishandling of our futures. It is unfair that the class of ‘24 have become the guinea pigs yet again in our high school lives. We were the first set of freshmen going into high school online during the pandemic, and now we’re being sent off to college with empty promises and a future with possible student debt.
With the reformatting of the FAFSA, it has come with its highs and its lows. Instead of spending hours filling out the application with over a hundred questions, the time has been cut short graciously with only 36 questions needing to be answered. And yet, it's ironic how the glitches on the website that happened while answering questions or creating FSA IDs have further prolonged the completion of the application.
It's quicker, it's easier, but is it better? In terms of finances, our editorial board would have to disagree. Some of us are looking at private schools, some of us are looking at UCs, and we all have siblings. The last part definitely affects our different family situations and how the money gets split. But with the FAFSA doing away with their sibling discount, extra aid given for each sibling in college, it really lowers the available money we can get.
Having a single parent paying all of the bills can bring hardship compared to those who have financial support from both parents, which means that students in those situations are at a disadvantage already without the addition of the FAFSA miscalculation.
Students have the very likely possibility of receiving less financial aid from the federal government as upticks in inflation were not taken into consideration when budgeting for this year’s application. This should not be downplayed as FAFSA is supposed to be the federal government helping students pay for their college expenses, and yet, this little miscalculation messes with our futures and shows an even larger incompetence on their part.
The delay of the opening of FAFSA has also impacted many students because it makes it a little more difficult to get the FAFSA done in time. Even though the opening changed from October to December, some schools such as the University of Southern California didn’t change their deadline to adjust to the delay. As the FAFSA deadline is much later, it could mess up students’ acceptance and decisions when it comes to where they will go after high school. This unforeseen situation makes it unfair since many students have prepared for college decisions and this extra obstacle sets them back.
Delayed releases, glitches in the system, confusing questions and a quite major miscalculation of money set aside for financial aid is all a gross mishandling of our futures. It is unfair that the class of ‘24 have become the guinea pigs yet again in our high school lives. We were the first set of freshmen going into high school online during the pandemic, and now we’re being sent off to college with empty promises and a future with possible student debt.