Completing Fafsa Leaves Students With an Overwhelming Work Load

By: Marian Mohamed
Staff Writer

Students have struggled to balance completing the FAFSA with other academic and work related responsibilities ever since its opening on Oct. 1.

Oct. 1 is the day that The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA) opened up for all students to apply in order to help pay their college tuition.

All that is required to apply is to fill out a form with the student’s tax and financial information and send it in to the financial aid office.  However, some students find this to be a much more difficult process than it seems.

For Lisa Ha, a Kent-Meridian High School senior, there were many factors involved in completing FAFSA that gave her some stressful nights. Ha was able to finish her requirements for FAFSA two weeks after it opened, which is uncommon compared to most of her peers. Despite finishing it earlier than others, she still had some obstacles to overcome.

“I kind of just went with it and [was] not sure what was going to be on there besides the financial stuff. The most difficult part of it was the taxes,” Ha said.

For high school seniors like Ha, filling out FAFSA forms can be a lonesome and difficult task, as her parents worked late hours. Ha explained how her mom works at night and the only time she could catch her to ask questions was before she went off to work or before Ha would get ready for school.

“On a normal day from 8:30 to 9:30 is the [only] period when I can reach her. Usually, I’m tired before then. So, throughout that week I’ve just been staying up at night when she woke up so I can do my FAFSA while asking her the questions [about it],” Ha said.

Ha is not the only student with this problem. Daliyah Garcia is a first-year student at Green River College. She explained the stress she had to go through in finding the taxes needed to complete the FAFSA form. Garcia recalled how difficult it was for her mom to find their family’s tax information, which was a requirement for the form. On top of all her schoolwork, completing college essays, and finding scholarships, FAFSA proved to add even more stress to her already busy schedule.

“I believe I should’ve been more prepared filling it out because [me] and my family had no idea what we were doing or what the requirements were. I had to find my family’s taxes and we were very broke so we didn’t have the paperwork yet or could find it at all,” Garcia said.

Both Ha and Garcia struggled in sitting down with their parents and filling out the FAFSA. If given the chance to advise people who would fill out the FAFSA, Ha said how making it a priority to fill the FAFSA within the first week or even the day it opens is really helpful. Garcia gave similar advice.

“Do not procrastinate and talk to your family as soon as possible,” Garcia said.

There are resources out there for both high school seniors and college students to help with financial aid. Kent-Meridian High School hosts FAFSA nights where students can come with their parents and find the help they need in completing the process. Green River College also has a financial aid office that can help students with FAFSA and other aid related questions.