Education Secretary Miguel Cardona participates in a roundtable discussion with students from … [+]
The Department of Education has started sending Free Application for Federal Student Aid data to colleges, but students should not expect their financial aid offers just yet. ED is only sending data to a small number of schools to ensure systems are working properly.
ED intends to send data out to more schools once they know everything is working smoothly but has said it will take two weeks to get colleges and universities the backlog of data for students who have already submitted their FAFSA. Once schools have student FAFSA data, they will need time to process the applications before they can send out financial aid offers to students, informing them of how much college will cost and how much aid they can expect to receive. In many cases, schools will also need to wait for their software vendors to update the programs they use to create financial aid awards in bulk.
The current timeline suggests it will be the start of April at the earliest before most schools can send out financial aid offers. Given these delays, it is concerning that most schools have not pushed back their admission decision deadlines from May 1.
What Should Colleges Be Doing Given FAFSA Delays?
College decision day needs to be moved back from May 1
May 1 is usually the deadline for new students hoping to attend a four-year college to decide where they will enroll. Colleges require students to confirm attendance and generally submit a non-refundable deposition as part of the process.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling, along with nine organizations representing colleges and financial aid offices, have asked their members to extend the deadlines for financial aid and admissions decisions. The extensions would give students more time to complete the financial aid process, understand their financial aid packages from colleges they’ve been accepted to, and decide where they will attend college in the fall.
With colleges waiting until mid-March or possibly later to get financial aid information, it will be early April, or likely later, before most incoming students find out how much money they are going to get to help pay for school.
Some colleges have already started moving their deadlines to June 1, but most seem to be sticking with the status quo.
NACAC is tracking the number of schools planning to move their deadlines. So far, fewer than 350 colleges and universities (as of March 8) have told NACAC they are moving their deadlines.
There are over 2,800 four-year colleges and universities in the country. Not all are NACAC members, but if only 10% of colleges and universities move their deadlines, millions of students will be in impossibly difficult situations.
What Is The FAFSA?
The FAFSA is the federal form college students use to apply for federal financial aid, including Pell Grants, the main federal grant used to pay for college. Millions of college students who need grants, loans, and work-study funds to help pay for college use the form every year to apply for support.
The delays this year were due to the time it took to roll out the changes required by the FAFSA Simplification Act. The law requires the Department of Education to implement massive changes to the online form and the backend technology that supports it. These changes should make the financial aid application simpler for students and their families and will lead to more students getting more aid, but they have taken longer than expected to complete.
Which Students Are Most Impacted By The Delays?
It is the most marginalized students, those who are first-generation and from low-income families, often students of color, who are going to be most heavily impacted by financial aid problems. The National College Attainment Network is tracking FAFSA submission rates, and their data show that the declines in submission rates are greatest for students of color and low-income students.
Overall, only 29% of graduating high school students have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid as of March 1. Last year, that number was 45% on the same date.
Students who fail to apply for financial aid after high school are less likely to go to college, so if these numbers continue to stay low, there could be a large decline in college enrollments this year.
College is one of the largest financial decisions most people make in their lives, so forcing students to make a rapid decision about something so important is concerning. Research from New America and uAspire, shows that financial aid offers are very confusing and students need time to figure out which school makes the most sense for them financially and academically.
What Support Is The Department of Education Providing To Schools?
ED is supporting college through its FAFSA College Support Strategy, which will deploy financial aid experts and additional resources to schools with limited capacity and need help processing financial aid offers. According to ED, it has already received requests for support from over 100 institutions and is conducting proactive outreach to colleges that enroll large numbers of low-income students and are likely to need additional help.
Even with help from ED, colleges will send aid offers out months later than they usually do. This college application season has already been even more challenging and stressful for students. Colleges need to step up now and move decision day back to June 1 to give students more time to make their decisions.
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