The US Department of Education announced a new FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form in an effort to make the financial aid process easier for students across the country. However, the rollout was marred by technical delays that prevented many from accessing the form. Millions of students are now left to decide where to start their higher education journeys without knowing exactly how much it will cost.

College Rover CEO Bill Townsend joins Wealth! to break down the financial aid process and the impact of the botched FAFSA rollout on students and their families.

"This impact is actually devastating," Townsend explains. "About 80% of high school seniors who then apply to college and don't go that first year — especially first-generation and low-income families — end up never going to college." He says an estimated 16% of high school seniors were adversely affected by the FAFSA rollout, and if 80% of those affected do not go to school, "the effects are tremendous."

The FAFSA issues also affect trade schools, impacting several sectors. He adds that while this may be bad news for individual students, it also poses an issue for Social Security: "Not having enough workers, trained workers, and skilled workers affects really the entire society."

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This post was written by Melanie Riehl