Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms are finally reaching colleges after months of waiting. Why are FAFSA delays so bad this year?

Well, this year marks the start of the U.S. Department of Education’s “Better FAFSA” Implementation, an attempt to expand higher education funding under the FAFSA Simplification Act. The new system will increase Pell Grant eligibility to over 7 million students.

“We are […] using every lever we have to make sure we can achieve the transformational potential of the Better FAFSA to make higher education possible for many more of our nation’s students,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in February. “The technical updates we are making today will not impact our implementation timelines, and, combined with other implementation efforts, the Department’s Better FAFSA will result in more students eligible to access more Pell Grants in the 2024–25 award year.”

Unfortunately, the rollout of the new system has come notably late in the cycle, putting pressure on students and parents alike.

How Late Was FAFSA This Year?

FAFSA typically opens on Oct. 1 for college admission the following year. However, the new, simplified FAFSA opened in December of last year and was riddled with issues.

For a time, students only had limited access to the form each day. Some students even qualified for less aid than they should have as a result of a calculation error.

Perhaps most bothersome, earlier this year, the Department of Education announced that colleges and universities wouldn’t receive students’ completed FAFSA forms until March. Ordinarily, schools receive FAFSA data soon after the forms are submitted.

As a result, schools have far less time to make financial aid offers.

“With this last-minute news, our nation’s colleges are once again left scrambling as they determine how best to work within these new timelines to issue aid offers as soon as possible — so the students who can least afford higher education aren’t the ones who ultimately pay the price for these missteps,” said Justin Draeger, President and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).

FAFSA Delays Weigh on Application Numbers

FAFSA delays have already proven particularly injurious to application numbers. Around 5.7 million students have currently applied for FAFSA, far behind the average 17 million students typical at this point in the application process.

“I do think that because the FAFSA became available so much later than it did in a normal year and there were so many glitches at the beginning of the process that needed to be resolved, some of those folks who would normally file a FAFSA earlier in the process may have decided to set it aside temporarily to wait for all of those things to be resolved and worked out before they come back to complete it,” said Karen McCarthy, Vice President of Public Policy and Federal Relations at NASFAA.

With the fall semester still on track for this August and September, many students’ path forward will remain uncertain for a bit longer as a result of the new FAFSA integration.

“The Education Department’s delays and failed implementation of FAFSA have caused chaos for states, schools, and families,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Chair of the House Education Committee, told The Hill. “Students rightfully need financial certainty before enrolling. Unfortunately, we will not know the full effects of these delays on enrollment until this fall. The Committee will continue to hold the Department accountable for this delay.”

On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.