A fix is on its way for students who haven’t been able to complete the new federal financial aid application because their parents don’t have Social Security numbers, the Department of Education said Tuesday.
The Education Department said a permanent fix will come in the first half of March, but in the meantime, there’s a workaround. Students should complete the steps for the workaround only if they must meet “critical state, institutional or other scholarship organization aid deadlines” by showing a submission date and having someone who needs to complete a portion of the application but hasn’t a Social Security number.
The process will allow them to complete the form but result in an “incomplete” submission that will need to be “corrected” later, it said.
News of a workaround and a permanent fix is likely a relief to students who have been locked out of completing the Education Department’s simplified 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Since the Education Department launched its new form three months later than usual at the end of 2023, the process has been riddled with glitches, and this particular one has hit one of the most vulnerable populations hardest. “If you’re a U.S. citizen, the immigration status of your parents should not be a barrier to receiving federal financial aid for higher education,” said U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman in a release.
“It seems like we’re hurting people we’re supposed to be helping get financial aid or get more…
