Wisconsin
FAFSA delays still causing stress for Wisconsin students and parents
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – FAFSA applications reached a new low as high school seniors try to submit their forms through a new portal process.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, submissions for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) dropped down 33.9% from 2023.
High school counselors, college finance experts and elected officials all said the new application process is to blame for the low turnout.
”The problem is the form,” La Follette High School Academic Career Planning Coordinator Annie Hand Braga said. “There have been all of the things that were promised with this better FAFSA that students would be able to do, they just haven’t all materialized or they didn’t materialize when the form opened.”
Braga and La Follette High School Multilingual Counselor Vanessa Hlavacka work with students and their parents to help them go through the financial aid process. The two said some students would not be able to attend college without help from the federal government.
”When we were finally able to submit, it brought me to happy tears for this student just knowing what it means for him and his family,” Hlvacka said. “It’s life changing for so many people. Even without those kinds of scholarships in mind, just the opportunity to see what kind of financial support is out there from the government, makes college attainable for many of our students.”
The U.S. Dept. of Ed. rolled out a new online application portal this year to make the process simpler. Under Secretary James Kvall acknowledged the new format did not go as planned.
“We have had some bumps get in there this year,” he said. ”It’s required us to replace up to 20 computer systems. Some of which are older than the parents that are filling out the form. So, it’s a major major IT project for us and it has been a challenging one.”
He said Congress voted to make legislative changes with FAFSA in 2020 and this was part of the result. When asked what his department is doing to improve things, he said they’ve made significant progression over the last few weeks. “We’ve made a lot of progress within the last few weeks,” he said. “The FAFSA is now up and running smoothly. We’ve had about 9 million people submit their FAFSA and we’re processing them in about one to three days.”
UW Madison Assistant Director of Federal Rewards Katy Weisenburger said her office is working to extend deadlines for students who, to know fault of their own, couldn’t make the FAFSA process work.
”I have seen a lot of students be very discouraged, yes, for sure…. I have had parents crying about not being able to get this done,” she said. “It’s a really awful situation. I would not be surprised if some students choose to not apply for financial aid or choose to not go to school because of this situation, which is really sad.”
Weisenburger said college hopefuls and their parents should continue to reach out to the FAFSA helpline and call their desired school’s financial aid offices to request deadlines.
UW Madison’s Financial Aid Office can be reached at 608-262-3060 for help.
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Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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