Oregon applications for federal financial aid dropped this year. 

The disruption in federal financial aid has been a roiling nightmare for families and students who need financial help to go to college.

Delays. Uncertainty.

Some changes in the aid program did make it simpler. The process went from 100 questions to about 20 questions for some families. That is an improvement.

But there are, as the Brookings Institution put it, complications with that simplification. For instance, families with more than one student in college saw a big change — and not for the better. Jim Brooks, a senior associate vice president at the University of Oregon, told a legislative committee last week the index that is used to calculate how much a student would receive no longer takes into consideration if a family has more than one student in college. Families with multiple students in college used to get a break.

Under the old system, a family filled out a FAFSA — Free Application for Federal Student Aid — form. And if they had three children in college, they might be eligible for Oregon Opportunity Grants or Pell Grants. Under the new system, they might not be.

Even that complication is complicated. It does not affect all families or all aid. It will affect some.

On the other hand, the federal Pell Grant was expanded. It now looks more at family size and the federal poverty level. About 1.5 million more students will qualify for financial aid.

With all the “buts” and “on the other hands,” the precise impact of financial aid is kind of good and bad, Brooks said.

What is clear is that in Oregon there are about 2,800 fewer students that filed a FAFSA this year compared to last. Did they just put off college? Did they give up?

The federal government failed them and many other families. It failed the staff at Oregon institutions that have had to deal with the mess. What will Congress do to make up for it?