GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The partial government shutdown continues into its 26th day. And with it comes growing concerns over its not-so-obvious consequences.
Take Kristen Freeland for example. She is a college student at Lanier Technical College who relies on financial aid, like so many others, to get an education. But she was told she owed $2,000 upfront to start her sophomore year, so she knew something was wrong.
The financial aid office told her she was selected for extra verification on her Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application, meaning she would need to get some documents such as wage transcripts from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The U.S. Department of Education says a third of FAFSA applicants are selected for additional verification. Freeland's concern: That it wouldn't be possible during a partial government shutdown. So, she took to Facebook to ask for help.
"I actually thought I was going to have to take the semester off because I couldn't afford the $2,000 upfront," Freeland told 11Alive's Elwyn Lopez.
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So, we wanted to check it out ourselves. 11Alive went to the IRS website and navigated through a tab online where you could access your tax records and transcripts with a few clicks.
However, Freeland said that option wasn't available a few days ago as the website was issuing an ongoing maintenance message.
But, on Wednesday, the college sophomore was able to access her W-2 statements in order to receive her financial aid.
Without them, she could have been set back while trying to obtaining her degree on time.
Lanier Technical College's financial aid office said that other students like Freeland had similar concerns. A spokesperson for the IRS said on the phone that while there is a skeleton staff people should still be able to access those records online.
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