New program prioritizes FAFSA help on the heels of student aid form’s confusing rollout

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The rocky rollout of this year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid has prompted a local nonprofit to launch a new program to help students complete the application.

The 2024-25 FAFSA rollout was supposed to be simplified and updated so potential college students could apply for financial aid and grants. But it didn’t go as smoothly as expected .

“They didn't get the chance to work out kinks and resources. That was a trickle-down effect, not just from the students, but even more so for the higher eds, who had to therefore allocate financial aid,” said Thomas Butler, executive director of the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable , which announced this week the start of the FAFSA P.U.S.H. initiative, aimed at helping students complete the application process.

According to the National College Attainment Network, the two high school graduating classes of 2022 and 2023 left $7.6 billion in Pell grants on the table. Butler says this year’s rollout was rife with delays and bugs, causing some students to take a gap year since they didn’t know how much aid was coming their way.

“It really pushed people into saying, ‘What am I going to do? I don't know what my bottom line is going to be, because I don't know how much financial aid I'm getting,’” he said.

The FAFSA P.U.S.H. initiative addresses those challenges by providing workshops and training, with an emphasis on assisting underrepresented, low-income and first-generation college students.

“The ‘P.U.S.H.’ part of what [PCPR] is promoting is not just what we're doing ourselves for the students, but gathering the resources and support of the other organizations around Philadelphia to come together and provide resources and support around FAFSA and get those numbers up,” Butler explained.

New Jersey makes FAFSA a graduation requirement

Meanwhile, New Jersey high school seniors will have a new requirement to graduate at the end of the year — a completed FAFSA form.

The law passed last year and was signed into law in January, requiring the classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027 to fill out the form as a prerequisite to graduating.

Gov. Phil Murphy said there are many resources available to make college more affordable and ensure students understand their options are paramount to making higher education attainable.

Completing the form won’t cost students any money and will take just a little time, less than an hour for many. Murphy says the time investment is well worth it with so much money on the table.