There’s a brand new workaround for some school candidates who’ve been stymied by the chaotic rollout of the newly designed federal scholar support kind.
The FAFSA, or Free Utility for Federal Scholar Assist, is all-important for a lot of college students seeking to afford school. The purpose of the U.S. Division of Training in overhauling the method was to make it less complicated, however the brand new system was beset by delays and glitches. Amongst these hit hardest had been low-income households with a guardian or scholar who lacks a Social Safety quantity.
However on Tuesday, the California Scholar Assist Fee offered welcome information, asserting it could supply an various monetary support software choice for college students who’re U.S. residents however have a minimum of one guardian with out a Social Safety quantity.
These college students can use the California Dream Act Utility to use for monetary support to attend a UC, Cal State or California group school.
Though the Division of Training stated these points had been fastened for college students from households that embrace immigrants, some have continued to face issues. College students have till Might 2 to finish a Dream Act software.
The appliance workaround represents one other try by the state to ease what has grow to be a long-running nightmare for college students who depend upon monetary support to attend school.
All California college students had been given an additional month to submit purposes for state monetary support. The deadline for Cal Grants and different state support packages — that collectively dole out greater than $2.3 billion — might be pushed again to Might 2 beneath laws that took impact final month.
Smith is a reporter for EdSource, a nonprofit, nonpartisan journalism group overlaying schooling in California. Occasions employees writers Howard Blume and Teresa Watanabe contributed to this report.
