How the federal shutdown hurts students seeking financial aid

When Congress failed to fund the government at the beginning of October, students seeking federal financial aid were plunged into a bureaucratic nightmare. As political leaders bicker over a spending bill, California students and families are left to navigate a financial aid process made even more cumbersome by the shutdown.

This year, the U.S. secretary of education celebrated the earliest launch of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in history. But the department’s efforts may be eroded due to the furlough of the U.S. Department of Education staff, including personnel in the Office of Federal Student Aid, which administers the FAFSA, as a result of the federal government shutdown. Although the department’s website states that students can still submit a FAFSA, responses to q