CLEVELAND — In an attempt to streamline the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, the Department of Education released a new version of the form.

What You Need To Know

  • A new FAFSA form has caused major delays and issues for students and institutions across the country

  • In response to the FAFSA issues, Lake Erie College has introduced the “Tri-County Scholarship”

  • This scholarship locks in a price of $7,000 per semester

While the changes were meant to simplify the form, there have been a number of issues with processing and glitches that lead to major delays.

Ashley Mayse, the executive director of admission at Lake Erie College, said some students have reported they will be taking a gap year due to uncertainty with finical aid.

In response to the issues with FAFSA, Lake Erie College has created the “Tri-County Scholarship.”  

The scholarship guarantees that new full-time students from Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula counties who deposit and register for classes in the Fall of 2024 will pay no more than $7,000 per semester in tuition and general fees.

“My assistant director and I were brainstorming one day, thinking about what we could do to help,” Mayse said. “We were sitting in my office and I said something to the extent of well, you know, we could do something huge and just have it be a big thing for local students.” 

Mayse said this scholarship will give local students a chance to get the four year college experience and hopefully will increase enrollment numbers at the institution.

“It was really important for us, just as a reaction to the FAFSA and all of the issues that have happened because of it this year,” she explained. “But we also really wanted to reach out to our local community and just let them know that we are here for them, that we have resources for them, that they can get a college degree for a really good price and have that price locked in.” 

Students who take advantage of the scholarship will have that price locked in for all four years and they might end up paying even less if they qualify for federal finical aid.

“So that is also huge,” Mayse said. “Because you often see tuition increases at all institutions really, so they won’t have to worry about any of that. They will know exactly how much they are paying for all four years.”