Time is running out to fix America’s student-aid mess

At the heart of the problem lie changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA—the web form that must be completed to qualify for most federal, state and institutional assistance. No tears were shed when, in 2020, Congress blessed plans to simplify it. Its 100 or so questions have long put off low-income students in two minds about higher education, and exasperated everyone else. Yet the new version did not limp online until months after this year’s college application season had started. And it was riddled with bugs.