PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Many experts say an attempt to make the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) easier to complete is causing problems for students across the country due to glitches and the online portal opening up to the public months later than usual. 

What You Need To Know

  • At a recent Pinellas County Schools FAFSA completion event, experts helped 35 families finish the application.

  • According to Pinellas County Schools, as of mid-April, just over 26% of Pinellas County high school seniors had completed the FAFSA, much less than the 40% who had completed it by this time in 2023

  • Statewide, officials say less than 19% of high school seniors have completed the application this year, compared to nearly 35% at this time last year

Valerie Santos, the K-12 school counseling specialist for Pinellas County Schools, said there have definitely been issues with the FAFSA application. 

"It was up partially, it was logging out," she said. "We were having glitches as people couldn't log in, and the connections weren't happening between the parent account and student account." 

Jennifer Boyd, a college and career coordinator at Pinellas Park High School, has been helping students and parents work through the new application. 

Thirty-five families attended a recent Pinellas County Schools FAFSA completion event where experts like Boyd helped guide them through the process.

She said this year, filling out the FAFSA looks different as the number of questions asked is cut in half to save time. 

"With a brand new family, sometimes it can take like 30-40 minutes," Boyd said. "Whereas before, some families were taking an hour, an hour and a half to be able to complete it."

The changes to the FAFSA are meant to make it easier, but St. Petersburg High School senior Tristan Robinson said finding the FAFSA form is like going through a maze.

"A lot of different things that I have to do," he said. "Had to get my mom, she had to make an account. I was trying to do it at home but it was difficult, so came here to make it easier. It's been a challenge a little bit." 

According to Pinellas County Schools, as of mid-April, just over 26% of Pinellas County seniors had completed the FAFSA, much less than the 40% who had completed it by this time in 2023.

Statewide, officials say less than 19% of high school seniors have completed the application this year, compared to nearly 35% at this time last year.

"We were supposed to open back up in October," Boyd said. "We didn't open up until Dec. 31. So, everybody, all the families were like, 'Oh, it opened up, let's start going in,' and that's when mistakes started happening."

The Pinellas County School District is holding a virtual FAFSA event on Thursday to assist those who still need help filling out the FAFSA.