PHOENIX — Changes to the process for federal student aid have seen a myriad of issues, causing added stress to college-bound seniors wondering if they'll get financial aid to help pay for college.
The governing body over the state’s biggest universities in Arizona has added an incentive to get students to apply for student aid.
If you’re looking for higher education after high school, seniors can turn to the one form college financial aid packages are based on – FAFSA. It’s a free application for Federal Student Aid.
Last year, the government changed the form intending to make it easier to fill out.
Some changes include cutting the number of questions from over 100 down to about 20, and expanding eligibility. However, that rollout ran into unexpected technical glitches and form errors, keeping some students from accessing the forms. That led to some delays in when colleges would receive them.
”For those who are able to go in, it really only takes 10-15 minutes to complete it,” said Megan Gilbertson with the Arizona Board of Regents.
The state estimates that fewer than 17,000 students have completed the FAFSA application as of February. That’s 43% fewer students who have completed the application than in years past.
That puts Arizona at 49th in the nation for the completion of a form aimed at giving students free money. Arizona is just above Florida and Alaska.
”We have a long way to go, so that free money left on the table for these students, there’s over $100 million last year’s seniors left on the table, last year just here in Arizona, by not competing the FAFSA,” said Gilbertson.
In hopes to change that, the Board of Regents and Arizona Cactus League are pitching free spring training tickets for any student who fills out the form.
Once completed, the schools and the state work together to get students the option to pick the team and the game to attend with four tickets.
”The Arizona Cactus League is such an amazing partnership here. They’re really committed to students having access to higher education. FAFSA is that first step,” said Gilbertson.
To ensure students and families have time to file their FAFSA, ABOR and Arizona’s public universities (UofA, ASU, and NAU) recently announced they’re extending the FAFSA priority deadline to May 1.
