"Students have waited months to find out how much financial aid they will receive for school. Delays and errors by the Department of Education mean they'll be waiting a while longer," NPR reports.

..."KAREN MCCARTHY: So it's like, congratulations on your acceptance. And then they say nothing about when you're going to hear anything about financial aid.

CARRILLO: That's Karen McCarthy, a vice president at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. She says colleges started getting processed applications from the education department a few weeks ago - months later than normal.

MCCARTHY: I don't really even have an estimate for you to share.

CARRILLO: This week, the Ed Department did clear one hurdle - cleaning out the backlog of applications. Around 6.5 million have now been processed. But McCarthy says once schools get all the data, that still isn't quite as close to the finish line as many think.

MCCARTHY: The most, like, on the ball, well-resourced school who really has their process, you know, locked down - it would probably take them two weeks. And that - not all schools are in that position. And that was also assuming that there were no problems at all."

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 3/31/2024