The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is for students seeking extra help paying off their college tuition. For many, it is what makes college a viable option after high school, but the application for the 2025 fall semester has been postponed until Dec. 1.
“I was planning on applying to my certain colleges and then apply to FAFSA by the end of October, but now that it got postponed, it kind of threw my plan off,” said OH senior and AVID student Noe Parra.
Students are struggling since they wish to finish filling out the application as soon as possible due to the application process being quite lengthy. The FAFSA is very delicate and cannot have any mistakes as it includes government and personal tax information.
“The FAFSA isn’t available to complete until December 1st. However, students and their parents can create their FSA ID (Federal Student Aid Identification),” said OH AVID and English learners counselor Patti Marcinko. “Having that part done will allow them to complete the FAFSA as soon as it’s available. They can also gather all the information they need, such as 2023 tax documents, and familiarize themselves with the form by going to studentaid.gov.”
Marcinko is just one of the people students can go to with any questions; OH seniors can always ask their counselors for extra help.
“The lateness of the FAFSA definitely had an impact on students last spring. Many students didn’t find out what financial aid would be available to them until very late in the spring,” OH AVID teacher Chad Pohlmann said.
“This influenced their college decisions. Hopefully, this year the process will run more smoothly so that students get faster results and can make decisions based on the FAFSA/financial aid information they receive sooner,” he added.
Pohlmann and his AVID class run on a set schedule in order to apply to colleges and universities, along with applying for scholarships as soon as they are admitted into the school. Like many students, they are affected by this pushback due to the long process it takes to complete the application and the amount of time it takes for the results to show up.
“Student Services will be hosting a number of FAFSA completion workshops both during the day and in the evening to help anyone who needs assistance,” Marcinko said.
As the date approaches for the release of the FAFSA application, students should get ready with all the information so the process goes smoothly. If students run into any struggles during this process, they should reach out to OH counselors and take advantage of the assistance offered from OH Student Services.
I am a senior at Oswego High School, this is my first year being a part of the 42fifty staff. I am an Avid student and have been on varsity soccer for 3 years.
