DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – After many students faced confusion and delays to filling out the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, last year, one eastern Iowa college is hoping to make the process easier.

For many students, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is the difference maker in whether or not their education will be affordable.

But the form isn’t exactly user-friendly.

“There are some questions that might be confusing to some people. Talking about who a contributor is, is it my mom. is it my dad, it it a spouse, or do I just qualify on my own?,” said Dawn Fleming, Assistant Director of Financial aid at Northeast Iowa Community College.

Those questions are one reason why NICC in Dubuque helped students fill the form out for free on Saturday.

Another reason is that recent changes to the FAFSA process made it an even bigger challenge this year.

Many families had to wait months to fill out the forms, which means waiting even longer for financial aid.

“You can imagine that it’s just holding them up from any future options they may be considering, because they don’t know a very important piece of information. And that is how can I afford to pay for my education,” said Amy Gaffney, NICC vice president of student services.

Gaffney says the major delay means many students who otherwise would’ve already completed the FAFSA by now haven’t.

Even though classes are already starting, NICC says it’s not too late to fill out the form.

“That’s okay, I still encourage students, get it done, get it done. Maybe January’s a good time to start,” Gaffney said.

NICC’s financial aid team says just a couple minutes of getting help to do the FAFSA correctly can make a major difference for someone’s education.

“I wanna be the person that helps them finish up their educational goal,” Fleming said.

The community college says it’s willing to continue to meet with students in the future, regardless of where they want to attend college.

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