CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — According to the National College Attainment Network, freshman enrollment nationwide is down 5% following FAFSA's hiccups during the 2024-2025 application.
The application was not easy for these two Del Mar students who applied for the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
Wendy Nelson is a physical therapist assistant student. She said while her spot in the program was secured, the financial worries still remained.
"I went in there and I said, 'hey what’s going on?'" Nelson said. "It was definitely still nerve racking for the scholarships and everything else. Due to the fact of, “am I going to have to pay out of pocket and figure things out?'"
Those difficulties forced Evie Lopez to be very watchful of her situation to ensure she wouldn’t miss out on financial assistance.
"It [FAFSA application] said it was finalized in the system but it wasn’t finalized I guess," Lopez said."With the delays I just had to keep checking emails and keep checking. I rely on FAFSA a lot I am a low income student."
Those technical glitches were caused by a new system that FAFSA rolled out to streamline the application process. According to Del Mar, the new system was not tested, which caused delays. Del Mar officials say there has been beta testing since Oct. 1 for upcoming the 2025-2026 application.
"They did their due diligence this time. And so far, there’s been no major glitches," Joseph Ruiz, the director of Financial Aid Services at Del Mar said.
Ruiz remained optimistic for his college for the upcoming application.
"We really try to avoid any kind of barriers or obstacles for students. So the FAFSA delay really hurt. But I think this year it’s going to be better," he said.
The FAFSA application portal was set to open Dec. 1, but KRIS 6 News has learned the portal is accepting applications now.
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