- Financial aid decisions, which typically come with college acceptance letters, have been delayed because the release of the revised FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) has been postponed.
- As a result, students and parents are putting off college decisions until their financial commitments are clear.
- The Department of Education has introduced a revised FAFSA to simplify the process, but technical issues are hampering its implementation.
For many students, the excitement of being accepted into their first-choice university this year has been dampened by the troubling uncertainty of whether they will receive the financial aid they need to attend.
The delay in financial aid decisions, which are usually announced with acceptance letters, comes after the release of the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the form commonly known as the FAFSA, that schools use to calculate financial aid. This is because it is slower than expected.
As a result, students and their parents are putting off making college decisions.
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“I’m not going to make a decision without knowing what I’m committing to financially. It’s irresponsible to do that,” said Jenny Nicholas of Keene, New Hampshire. She wants her son, a high school senior, to attend the college that is most affordable for her family.
Jesús Noyola, a second-year student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, photographed outside the Folsom Library in Troy, New York on February 13, 2024 – Anticipating developments in the revised federal financial aid application. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
The Department of Education said the form was easier for parents to fill out and that it used a new formula to calculate aid eligibility to account for inflation. But it wasn’t ready in October, when the next academic year’s form is usually released. During the soft launch in December, many people had difficulty accessing the form. Additionally, the initial release did not include an updated inflation tool.
Schools are being forced to adapt because they won’t have the information they need to award financial aid until next month. Some students have moved away from the popular May 1 deadline for students to accept offers of admission.
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For example, just last week, Virginia Tech announced that it was moving the deadline for first-year college admissions deposits to May 15th. We need more time to make an informed decision,” Juan Espinoza, interim deputy governor for enrollment management, said in a statement.
The school said it plans to notify families about financial aid in mid-April.
“I can’t make a decision until I see the financial aid package,” said Agata James, the mother of a high school senior in Queens, New York. “Everything is at a loss,” she said.
James’ son’s decision was wavering between two colleges. One is in his home state and his other is at his dream university outside of his state. But James said his decision will be based on how much he can afford without taking on significant student loan debt.
The Department of Education said it was working to reduce the impact of the delay. Among the steps taken are reducing verification requirements, sending federal experts to under-resourced schools and allocating funds for technical assistance to nonprofit organizations.
“We are determined to get this right,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement this month. “We must and we will.”
More than 17 million students use the FAFSA each year to receive financial aid for their college education. The ministry said more than 4 million forms had been successfully submitted as of mid-February.
Rachel Leniva of Dothan, Alabama, said the financial aid decision will not only affect her son’s future, but the future of her entire family.
The Department of Education said the new application form will be easier to use, but some students and parents are still having trouble applying.
Jesús Noyola, a sophomore at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, said he was unable to submit his application because there was an error in the parent section of the application.
“It’s unfortunate and very stressful because all these issues are taking forever to resolve,” Noyola said. Noyola receives grants and work studies to fund her education.
Other errors are related to Social Security numbers, said Travis Hill, director of Dallas County Promise, a college success program in Texas.
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Parents who do not have legal immigration status cannot submit certain parts of the application because they do not have a Social Security number. Other parents have also encountered errors when linking their Social Security numbers to their children’s FAFSA applications.
“I’m feeling stressed,” said Lorenzo Jaramillo, 17, a high school senior who plans to major in computer engineering. Although Jaramillo lives in Toronto, he is a U.S. citizen, so he is eligible for financial aid.
Helen Faith, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Office of Financial Aid, said she is concerned that the delay will harm both students and the school.
“What ends up happening is that our underrepresented and most vulnerable populations will be disproportionately affected,” Hill said.
