Form must now be completed separately by students, benefactors
“At the CSU about 80 percent students receive some kind of financial aid, and 60 percent of undergraduates have their tuition completely covered by grants or other non-load aid,” according to calstate.edu. This allows students to be assisted with any cost within post-secondary education.
Toros seeking financial aid for next year can expect to see some major changes on the application form. Rather than students completing the form entirely on their own, anyone listed as a benefactor will also have to fill out the document and consent to providing their federal tax information directly to the Internal Revenue Service. The added step is giving some students cause for concern.
Under the new guidelines, benefactors must register online for a Federal Student Aid identification, or FSA ID. They’ll need to provide their Social Security number as a part of this process, but students whose parents may not have an SSN are reporting issues with completing the necessary forms. Some Toros said they preferred the old application.
“[The new form] was way too complicated,” said third-year Liberal Studies student Chelsy Davila. “The struggle was getting my mom’s account to get verified.”
Junior Psychology student Valerie Rivera also had trouble filling out the form and called it “more confusing.”
The Education Department is expected to allow families to create an FSA ID without an SSN by the end of the month. CSUDH may move to extend the on-time deadline for submission if the matter isn’t resolved by Apr. 2, said Nick Valdivia, the university’s director of financial aid and scholarships. Valdivia told The Bulletin the university’s goal would be to “hold those families harmless.”
Due to many students having a difficult time filling out the new FAFSA there will be workshops available for all students. The next upcoming workshop will be on Mar 20. 2024 in the I&I building room 3600.
“This shouldn’t be an issue where they may lose access to financial aid because of something that is out of their control,” Valdivia said, adding that the Education Department has not started processing financial aid even though the application is now live. “They had to rewrite the logic that is used to calculate financial aid.”
In the meantime, some students are left wondering whether they’ve made any mistakes on their applications and how that could potentially change their financial aid status or delay receipt of their benefits. This also means students and their families would have less time to review their options. This could be problematic for first-year students, especially if cost plays a role in their decision on where to attend school. These students must decide on where they will go to school by June 1.
Valdivia said at least two-thirds of the students at Dominguez Hills receive some sort of grant or scholarship to fully fund their education. He added that the university offers other options for students who do not submit their FSA application by Apr. 2, including the Pell grant and State University grant. CSUDH has also commissioned a task force to address students’ concerns about paying for their education.
According to William Franklin, CSUDH’s vice president of student affairs, the task force will work to provide Toros with “better information to help them make more informed choices, make college more affordable, and understand how financial aid programs work so they can maximize the aid they received.”
