LINCOLN - EducationQuest Foundation encourages Nebraskans who plan to attend college during the 2024-25 academic year to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), now open at studentaid. gov<http://www.studentaid.gov>.
The FAFSA opening was delayed this year due to a legislatively mandated application overhaul by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).
EducationQuest Foundation President and CEO Liz Koop encouraged N ebraska students and families to complete the form but cautioned that they could experience technical problems.
"The U.S. Department of Education has indicated there will be some interruption in form availability during this 'soft launch' phase as they work to make website fixes and upgrades," Koop said. "User capacity limits have also been put in place, so access to the form may not be immediate. If you experience problems accessing the FAFSA, our best advice is to try again later. There's plenty of time to submit as colleges likely won't start receiving data from the form until late January or February, and students won't receive award notifications until late February or March." Senior Vice President of College Access Programs Daphne Hall advised families to contact EducationQuest for assistance.
"College is a big investment, and most students need financial aid to make earning a degree possible," Hall said. "Filing your FAFSA can make all the difference in paying for college. While the form itself can seem intimidating, it isn't that complicated, and EducationQuest is here to help with free online resources and personal assistance." Both student and parent(s) must create an FSA ID at studentaid.gov<https:// studentaid.gov/> before starting the FAFSA. It can take up to three days for the FSA ID to be verified. Federal income tax returns and other financial asset information from 2022 are required to complete the application. The FAFSA must be resubmitted every year a student plans to attend college to get federal aid.
According to a report by the National College Attainment Network, Nebraskans left more than $21 million in Pell Grants on the table in 2022 by not filing the FAFSA.
For more information about the FAFSA and how to file, visit eqf.org/ FAFSAtools<https://eqf.org/FAFSAtools>.
