Financial aid is a vital resource for college students, many who rely on the assistance to attend classes. But the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, FAFSA for short, and the entire financial aid process is often confusing and disjointed, despite workers attempts to streamline the process.

There have been many roller coasters surrounding FASFA. Many students encounter bugs in the system, when the computer system tells you one thing and then financial aid turns around to say that it’s not true. The two systems don’t always work together preventing students from understanding whether they will receive their aid for classes. This results in them not being able to register for the classes they need in a timely matter, or not even be able to register at all due to not having the proper funding.

Andrew-Pol Clements, a former Editor-in-Chief for the Foghorn, unfortunately has firsthand experience with the problems. “Most recently, I was denied financial aid which I had previously been granted and approved for because I had ‘exceeded 150% of [my] declared academic program.’ Which I was never informed about in formal communications. I had to find it out myself by checking WEBDMC and stumbling upon this information by complete chance.”  Clements had to drop all of his classes for the semester, and possible into the summer semester as well.

The system needs to change. The issues are hampering people’s education and even completely stopping them from completing their degrees. While Clements won’t be able to take classes right now, he has an opportunity to work on a certification so his time will not go to waste. But other students may not have this same opportunity, so their time is wasted. This type of roadblock can even completely derail a student, and they won’t complete their education at all.

A quick-fix solution isn’t apparent. But there must be a way for the system to be transparent and clear to avoid potential disasters. The workers in the financial aid office help as much as they can, but there is only so much they can do within a flawed system.