Contact: Allie Arcese
Director of Communications
202-785-6954
[email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., FEBRUARY 8, 2023 — Officials from the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) did not commit to an Oct. 1, 2023, launch date for the 2024-25 FAFSA during a session on FAFSA simplification Tuesday morning as part of NASFAA’s ongoing Leadership & Legislative Conference & Expo, and instead reiterated that the FAFSA will be launched by Jan. 1, 2024, as is required by law.

NASFAA President and CEO Justin Draeger issued the following statement: 

"A FAFSA delay is a step backwards for students and families. A number of colleges and universities begin sending out financial aid offers in November and December to get families the information they need to make college-going decisions as soon as possible.

A delay is compounded by the fact that a series of other unique challenges will make it difficult for schools to provide students with precise estimates about their financial aid without the FAFSA. It's not just the FAFSA that is changing, it's the underlying formula and many schools will be reluctant to provide estimates given those formula changes. Those same formula changes will also impact the accuracy of net price calculators, which many schools use to provide students comprehensive estimates of their federal and institutional financial aid packages.

While disappointing, we understand these are once-in-a-generation changes that should make the financial aid application process better for students. Worse than a delay would be a faulty or unstable release, or a security breach. We're urging the Department to continue to work toward a FAFSA release as close to October 1 as possible and to inform the community as soon as they have a firm date."

About NASFAA 

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 32,000 financial aid professionals at approximately 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every 10 undergraduates in the U.S. Based in Washington, DC, NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators.