COVER STORY
free and reduced-price lunches,” Campanelli said. His annual FAFSA night, where stu- dents and families are invited to the high school to have assistance com- pleting FAFSA, didn’t go well this year. “We had a fair turnout of parents, but about half walked away not being able to complete the FAFSA, for what- ever reason.” He added that undocumented par- ents have had the most difficult time getting through the FAFSA. To try to alleviate these burdens, he reached out to a handful of col- leges in the hope of getting some answers. They all said similar things: “We know as much as you know. We’re not expecting things to happen in a timely sense.” “The CSS profile schools aren’t as worried about the FAFSA. You can tell your students we understand what they’re dealing with.” “(The FAFSA challenges) are add- ing to the anxiety that people feel around the process,” Campanelli said. “Some parents are able to accept that, but for a lot of families, it’s difficult.” To help alleviate some of the uncertainty, Campanelli said he’s been in contact with NACAC, New York ACAC, and the College Access Consortium of New York for resources and guidance. He’s utilized general information from these sources and attended events hosted by the groups to learn about critical updates and news.
award and miss the open house events. This is just another way in which low- and middle-income fam- ilies are further marginalized in the college application process.” Along the way, O’Hara has got- ten his information from a variety of sources, including through visits to colleges and universities with his son. He noticed some colleges have been innovative. For example, St. Edward’s University (TX) created its own FAFSA tool to send to all admitted students, turning around a financial aid pack- age within five to seven days. “This initiative felt like a win-win, addressing both student-centered and institutional practices. It pro- vided families with more information sooner, reducing waiting times and potentially increasing enrollment deposits,” said O’Hara. He also used College Aid Pro, a for-profit service that hosts biweekly lunchtime calls for counselors. O’Hara said hearing other counselors ask questions has been beneficial. He also found the College Admission Counselors Facebook group, which includes school counselors, inde- pendent counselors, and admission professionals, to be a valuable crowd- sourcing tool. Another challenge he’s seen stu- dents and families face — which was just recently corrected by the Department of Education — is not being able to submit corrections or add colleges to their FAFSA. “My senior added a college to his list in late January after we had sub- mitted his FAFSA, but there is no way to let that college know there is a FAFSA out there for him,” he said in regards to the previous issue. About 50 percent of O’Hara’s stu- dents stay in New England for col- lege, and 50 percent leave the region. About 25 percent attend public uni- versities, and the rest of the students
All in all, he describes this FAFSA cycle as “one step forward, three steps back.” “It’s just a frustrating process for everyone to know that this was three- plus years in the planning, and this was the best thing we could come up with.” RHODE ISLAND Jonah O’Hara, director of college counseling at Rocky Hill Country Day School in East Greenwich, has felt a double whammy this year. He’s helping his son navigate the college admission process, as well as helping all the other senior students and their families at his school. O’Hara advised families to wait until mid-January to begin the FAFSA process, as he figured the December rollout would be buggy. What he’s noticed in the past few months is that low- and middle-income fami- lies have suffered even more, in ways people might not think of. For instance, these families strug- gle with whether to make campus visits. “Most families who need to wait for need-based aid awards for stu- dents to decide where they will deposit are families who have limited resources to travel to visit campuses where they were admitted,” he said. “Families are forced to decide if they should invest in visiting colleges where their student was admitted but where they are unsure if they can afford, or wait for their need-based
PAYING FOR COLLEGE NACAC has compiled a list of trusted, up-to-date sources that help students and their families navigate the financial aid process. Sources include the Department of Education, The Institute for College Access and Success, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and more.
22 • THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE ADMISSION
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