More FAFSA Delays Likely to Slow Aid and College Decisions
"If you’ll be in college next year, don’t expect financial aid offers anytime soon. Colleges won’t begin receiving processed FAFSAs — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — until mid-March, the U.S. Education Department said on Tuesday," NerdWallet reports.
..."Once colleges receive processed FAFSAs, they can start building financial aid packages, which may include loan eligibility, grants, scholarships and estimated cost of attendance. That process takes another few weeks. The earliest students could get financial aid offers is the first week of April. Colleges will likely rethink the typical May 1 decision date to allow students and families enough time to consider their aid packages, says Karen McCarthy, vice president of public policy and federal relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
'It's reasonable to think that many more states and institutions will be having those conversations about their deadlines, how far they can push those and still be able to get all their work done,' McCarthy says. 'It really affects all of their timelines leading up to the beginning of the next school year.'"
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Publication Date: 1/30/2024
