Changes to the FAFSA financial aid process that is familiar to most college-bound students had a rough last few months of delays and glitches, and the impact was felt in the decrease in the number of those who completed the critical FAFSA (Federal Application for Federal Student Aid) forms.

In New Jersey, barely a majority of graduates had completed the forms by the end of the school year, with just 52.2% so far recorded, according to tracking by the National College Attainment Network. That’s nearly a 10-point drop from the Class of 2023 or the equivalent of roughly 7,000 students potentially losing out on financial aid.

Read NJ Spotlight News’ coverage on FAFSA’s problems and the college decisions it upended.