Troubled FAFSA rollout complicates college acceptance for some seniors
Los Angeles — Oscar Garcia of South Los Angeles is just weeks away from taking his last steps as a high school senior, and his first steps toward a college degree.
Garcia said attending college "means having an opportunity to get out of here."
It's an opportunity made possible through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
"FAFSA, man, they have a lot of issues," Garcia told CBS News. "It always gave me, like, some errors, or something. Yes, it was just pretty tedious."
After a botched rollout of last year's FAFSA application under the Biden administration, it was delayed again this year, with students encountering error messages and glitches on the site. Making things more challenging were the unprecedented cuts to the Department of Education last month, impacting nearly half of the office of Federal Student Aid, which is responsible for managing FAFSA.
Garcia, who will be attending Los Angeles Trade Tech Community College in the fall, said he tried to call the Federal Student Aid Information Center for help "more times than what I can count. At some point I just wanted to stop."
Lina McCormick-Morin, deputy director of the Southern California College Attainment Network — an education equity group that seeks to help underrepresented students achieve a college education, helps low-income students navigate the FAFSA system.
"The process is really grueling," McCormick-Morin said. "It is genuinely like filing taxes and being audited at the same time."
Thursday is National College Decision Day, which is the deadline for when most college-bound students have to declare which school they will attend in the fall.
McCormick-Morin has seen college dreams put on hold, as only 58% of eligible California high school seniors successfully submitted FAFSA applications for the upcoming school year, according to the California Student Aid Commission.
"It is difficult to see what is efficient about cutting the working capacity of any department that was already understaffed," McCormick-Morin said.
University of Southern California junior Stephani Jaramillo and California State University, Northridge junior Jose Pablo-Corona told CBS News they don't have safety nets — they only have FAFSA. "I worry that without that help, I won't be able to continue my education," Pablo-Corona said. "So I'm pretty worried." Jaramillo said that "for me, financial aid is hope, it's a stepping stone to reaching a potential future that I've been looking forward to my whole life."
Now, both are concerned whether they will see their financial aid in time to complete college. "Everyone chases some sort of American dream," Jaramillo said. "No matter what it looks like, some sort of, like, happiness and stability. For me, that's my education."
Kristi Noem says if Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to U.S. we'd "immediately deport him again"
Mike Waltz leaving post as Trump's national security adviser | Special Report
Extended interview: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on deportations involving children and more
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Proud Boys Sue DOJ For $100 Million Over Jan. 6 Arrests
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued a blanket pardon to more than 1,500 people charged in the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. But it still wasn't enough. Now, five Proud Boys leaders are suing the Department of Justice (DOJ) over their prosecutions and asking the government to surrender millions. The lawsuit, filed by Dominic Pezzola, Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joe Biggs, and Zachary Rehl, asks the government to pay them $100 million in restitution, despite the fact that the latter four were found guilty of engaging in a seditious 2021 conspiracy to keep Trump in power. Two years after the riot, Tarrio, Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were found guilty of plotting to oppose Congress' election certification by force. Pezzola was the only one who was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but was still found guilty of assaulting police, stealing a riot shield, smashing a window breached by rioters, conspiring to impede lawmakers and police, and more. The five men filed the lawsuit Friday in Florida, putting the ball in Trump's court to either defend the prosecutions or pay an exorbitant sum at taxpayers' expense. The Proud Boys is a far-right militant organization that promotes political violence and embraces misogynistic, xenophobic, and anti-LGBTQ+ ideologies. If the DOJ decides to pay the Proud Boys members, many Democrats worry that it could symbolize the president's willingness to outwardly sanction political violence and empower extremists. In the pardon proclamation announced on Jan. 20, Trump noted that the controversial mercy 'ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.' Prior to the pardons, Tarrio, Nordean, Biggs, Rehl, and Pezzola were each sentenced to 22, 18, 17, 15, and 10 years in prison, respectively. The Proud Boys members claim there was an 'egregious and systemic abuse of the legal system and the United States Constitution to punish and oppress political allies of President Trump, by any and all means necessary, legal, or illegal.' 'A settlement would suggest that the violence of January 6 was entirely justified,' Matthew Dallek, a political historian at The George Washington University, told The Washington Post. 'It would say to the country that these Proud Boys who were convicted in a court of law, in a fair trial, were wrongfully prosecuted and victims. It just turns the entire day on its head.' The insurrection interrupted Congress' attempt to certify former President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. After a mob stormed the Capitol, five people died in or immediately after the violence and 140 officers were assaulted. The Daily Beast has reached out to the Trump administration for comment.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Chaco region ban on oil and gas drilling being reconsidered under Trump
Jun. 6—The Trump administration's focus on domestic energy production has pushed the Bureau of Land Management to reconsider a rule against oil drilling in a 10-mile area surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. As Department of Interior secretary, New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland issued an order in 2023 to prevent oil and natural gas drilling in the 10-mile radius surrounding Chaco Canyon for 20 years. The All Pueblo Council of Governors wants those protections to stay in place for the sake of protecting sacred sites in the Chaco region. But the Navajo Nation is suing to revoke the protections, arguing the withdrawal causes significant economic harm to its members. Increasing domestic energy production and mining is a Trump administration priority. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order telling agency heads to identify actions that impose an "undue burden" on the development of domestic energy resources, particularly oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical minerals and nuclear energy resources and to make plans to revise or rescind those actions. "This will restore American prosperity — including for those men and women who have been forgotten by our economy in recent years. It will also rebuild our nation's economic and military security, which will deliver peace through strength," the order reads. Subsequently, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order in February essentially telling his agency to take steps to follow Trump's order, including "actions to review and, as appropriate, revise all withdrawn public lands." When it comes to Chaco, the Bureau of Land Management is following that order to review withdrawn public lands. According to an agency spokesperson, no formal decision has been made yet related to the Chaco order, which prohibits oil and gas development and exploratory mining on federal lands within a 10-mile radius of the Chaco Culture National Historic Park. "It's deeply disappointing that Trump and his administration are working to undermine our communities rather than to address the struggles and concerns that New Mexicans face every day," Haaland said in a statement. The Bureau of Land Management held a tribal consultation in late May about considering revoking the Chaco order. Ahead of the meeting, Acoma Gov. Charles Riley called for a united tribal response to keep the protections in place. Recently, the All Pueblo Council of Governors also passed a resolution reaffirming its opposition to weakening Chaco protections. "Chaco is a place that's very sacred to us," Riley said. "It contains many of our beliefs and origins. ... Many times, people don't understand our connection with these sites, whether it be Chaco, Mesa Verde, Bears Ears, things like that, many of our religious tribal leaders still go back to these places and call upon our ancestors to guide and protect our people, and that's what people don't understand." Acoma also received notice of the consultation late, only 19 days ahead of time instead of the typical 30, Riley said, giving the pueblo leaders less time to prepare, and the consultation didn't seem like a "true consultation," he said. "It just doesn't seem like this administration is listening. They hear you, but they're not listening," Riley said. 'A domino effect' As the Biden administration came to a close in January, the Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the United States, the Interior Department, the Bureau of Land Management and Haaland, arguing that she failed in her statutory obligations and fiduciary duties to the Navajo Nation when issuing the order. Navajo Nation members hold mineral rights for land in the area, and the lawsuit argues that profiting off of those mineral rights will be effectively impossible with the checkerboard of surrounding federal lands ineligible for lease. "This will result in sizable financial losses, especially relative to modest incomes that are prevalent in this isolated region, and will significantly reduce economic activity and employment in the region, further detrimentally affecting the Nation and its citizens," the lawsuit reads. The Navajo Nation repeatedly proposed a 5-mile withdrawal radius as a compromise approach to protecting Chaco. The lawsuit argues that the U.S. government never officially considered that suggestion, so it didn't encourage public consideration of it. The office of Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren did not respond to a request for comment by the Journal's print deadline. In April, the Acoma and Laguna pueblos asked to join the lawsuit as intervenors on the side of the defendants. New Mexico's all-Democratic congressional delegation have been vocal about trying to protect certain wild or culturally significant areas in the state, like the Gila and Pecos watersheds, from mining and oil and gas development. In April, Sen. Ben Ray Luján and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández led the reintroduction of a bill to make the 10-mile protected area around Chaco permanent. All five members of the delegation are cosponsors. It seems unlikely to pass in a Republican dominated Congress. "With the atmosphere of today and the push for shorter environmental reviews, the fast track of mining of uranium and oil and gas production, it really does threaten a lot of our sacred places around the country," Riley said. "And if we — God forbid — fail on Chaco, then, in my opinion, it's just a domino effect. Then, who's next? What's next?" Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Florida residents voice opposition to potential offshore drilling plans
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is taking public comments on a program that would open up nearly the entire U.S. coastline to oil drilling. As you can see on this map, the coasts of both Florida and Georgia are included. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< The Florida state constitution bans drilling on the coastline, but that only applies to water within three miles of the coast. The rest is federally owned, and that's the water the Trump administration wants to open. Jahlonious Monk has been living in Jacksonville for the last 20 years. He is completely against the idea. 'I think it's messed up like I don't think that should happen. I think that the nature here is so amazing and it's such a beautiful place that we should protect and preserve,' said Monk. 'Who wants to visit here when it's full of pollution?' [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Visitors such as Kenneth Smith, who traveled here from Ohio, felt the same way. 'No, I wouldn't come if there is drilling. I'd just leave everything like it is,' said Smith. While the White House tries to make the change, there's a bill in Congress to help. It would remove former President Biden's block on adding offshore drilling sites. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] We reached out to all four U.S. representatives in our viewing area, whose district includes the Atlantic coast. Congressman Aaron Bean (R-FL) 'While I support responsible investments in American energy, I remain opposed to opening Florida's Atlantic Coast to offshore drilling. We must continue to safeguard our beautiful beaches and coastal waters that drive our state's economy,' U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean (R-FL) said. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's 45-day public comment period ends June 16th, 2025. To learn more about the oil and gas leasing program, click here. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
