Financial aid begins rolling out to students after months of delays

(WSET) — The Department of Education created a new version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, but it backfired.

Now, after months of delays, financial aid packages are finally rolling out to students.

"This was really idiotic," said Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who promised to make sure the issues are resolved.

"A lot of people applied for financial aid and it crashed. The Department of Education did a bad job in rolling out the new, simplified version. We'll make sure they fix it," Kaine said.

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The original application opening day was supposed to be in October, but it was pushed to January. We're now in the month of March and schools are just starting to receive the information they need to put together packages, making a tight timeframe for students' May 1 commitment deadline.

"People are trying to make their decisions about where to go to college and they don't have all the information they need from financial aid," said Aaron Basko, Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing and Communications at the University of Lynchburg.

However, Basko said the school has found a workaround.

"Our team actually worked really hard to come up with our own estimate using the formulas we knew so it really shouldn't stop a family from being able to get the information they need," Basko said.

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At Randolph College, the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Travis Carter said he expects the process to become more streamlined in the future.

"It's going to get better, it will be better in the future. This is just how it's been this year, try to keep the big picture in your minds because it will be better," Carter said.

If you haven't received your aid package yet, Basko encourages you to call the financial aid office and they can help you with your next steps.