Last year, in a fit of masochism, I tried to become the first person in the United States to fill out a FAFSA (short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form at the precise moment the Department of Education unveiled a long-delayed overhaul.
I failed in my New Year’s Eve quest because the site wasn’t working, and the experience was a harbinger for millions of others.
The rollout of the new FAFSA was one of the most epic digital fiascos of our time, right up there with the Obamacare website’s disastrous debut and the Equifax breach.
At one school’s FAFSA completion event, only 20 percent of students finished.
This week, the department tried again, opening the gates to the FAFSA website after months of additional revisions and multiple rounds of beta testing.
Persons:
didn’t
Organizations:
Federal, of Education
Locations:
United States