MILWAUKEE — Applying for federal student aid through FAFSA is a yearly occurrence for students pursuing higher education all across the country.
This year, there were challenges as FAFSA changed their application process.
Fernanda Becerra is just weeks away from her sophomore year at Marquette University, pursuing a criminology degree.
"It's been my dream school since I was 7," Becerra said.
But with high costs, the stress of college doesn't stop when you get an acceptance letter.
Becerra says filling out the FAFSA was easy her senior year, but this year the application changed.
"Well, it was supposed to be a simplified version of the application," said Marco Morrison, the executive director of College Possible Wisconsin.
Watch: How you can get help on your FAFSA application:
For Becerra, it was harder.
"I tried the day of, and the whole site just crashed," Becerra said.
The first day of the FAFSA was in December, she continued to try until the summer with no luck. She wasn't the only one.
According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, as of April of this year, completed FAFSA application rates dropped to 33.9% after being at 42.4% last year.
That's why College Possible Wisconsin launched its FAFSA completion campaign.
"It's urgent just to be honest with you," Morrison said. "You can't go to college if you can't afford college"
To get help from College Possible, you can email them at reach out to College Possible at wifafsasupport@collegepossible.org.
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