Botched college financial aid form snarls enrollment plans for students

After a long summer of technical glitches, most of America’s prospective college students finally applied for federal financial aid — an annual process upended by a redesign-gone-bad. The number of high school seniors who have completed their Free Application for Federal Student Aid is down 9% compared to this time last year, according to the National College Attainment Network. That number has improved from 40% in the spring. But the delays still changed where students enrolled. Many students were forced to decide where to attend college with little to no information about their financial picture, so some picked colleges closer to home, or with more merit scholarships.