It’s not news for families with a college-bound student that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has been delayed.
In turn, the receipt of financial aid packets and the ability of students to make final college decisions has also been delayed.
Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) college and career specialist Abby Gee also knows the frustration and anxiety as she fields questions and requests for information every day.
“I have students coming in here all the time,” she said from her office in the Student Center East.
While she understands everyone’s frustration and anxiety, she says that everyone, colleges included, is sharing in it.
“These changes (to FAFSA) are the biggest in the past 40 years,” she said.
Unfortunately, the change process hasn’t gone smoothly.
What’s happening?
Colleges won’t start receiving students’ financial aid data from FAFSA until the first half of March, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Most students typically receive financial aid award letters from their chosen schools in March and commit to a college by May 1.
When precisely that will actually happen this year is unknown, although the Department of Education appears to lay that responsibility on colleges.
“Most colleges send out financial aid award letters around the same time as admission offer letters,” the Department of Education says on its student aid website. “However, the timing can vary from college to college depending on factors such as the date that you submitted your FAFSA form and the number of FAFSA forms the college received. Your college can tell you when you should expect to receive your award letter.”
What happened?
Congress mandated significant updates to FAFSA three years ago, ordering it to be shorter and easier, including having the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) automatically fill out some of the more complicated financial information.
“The FAFSA account can now just pull (family) tax information into the form so that they don’t have to sit there and upload their information,” Gee said.
Another goal of the update was to expand the number of lower-income students who qualify for a federal Pell Grant, which does not have to be repaid.
One aspect of the change was making the formula for determining a family’s required contribution more generous.
The problem is that the Department of Education forgot to adjust the formula for inflation, an oversight first reported by The Washington Post.
Usually available Oct. 1 each year, the changes delayed the FAFSA release until the end of 2023. There were technical problems with the FAFSA website early in 2024 that added to the delays, Gee said.
While the Department of Education works to fix that problem, everything related to processing the FAFSA forms is currently on hold, Gee said.
“Financial aid is one of the largest parts of choosing a college, and a lot of colleges can’t offer a student a full financial aid package without seeing their FAFSA,” Gee said. “So, this pushes everything back.
“I’ve had universities reach out to say that they are going to push back their preferred decision date because students don’t know where they stand financially and how they can pay for college fully.”
Gee said colleges and students are “all in the same boat.”
“Right now is the prime season for colleges,” Gee said. “In a normal year, this is when students would be receiving their financial aid packets and having those conversations and making their decisions.”
What can you do while you’re waiting?
Gee said that students and families should complete and submit the FAFSA at FAFSA.gov if they haven’t already.
After that, she recommends they check the FAFSA website for updates and stay in contact with the admissions counselors at the top four or five schools they have selected. If nothing else, they should make sure the schools have their email address so updates can be sent to them.
Minnesota college websites can also be helpful for those planning to stay in the state, Gee said, because they offer access to admission counselors specific to their area. “That’s your go-to person for all things,” she added.
She also encourages attendance at college financial aid nights.
“Many of these colleges host online evening events,” she said. “Knowing how to tap into those resources is super important for families.”
She also encourages students to stop by her office in Student Center East if they have questions.
“If they have questions about the FAFSA, I ask them what colleges (they are) interested in,” Gee said. Sometimes, she can call a school admissions counselor to discuss a student’s questions or concerns.
Gee said she is always looking for updates, and when she gets them, she passes them along. “Once we are getting updates for the FAFSA, (students and families) will get mass emails from me.”
Gee requests that parents with questions contact her by email at abby_gee@edenpr.k12.mn.us.
EPHS also hosts a College Planning Night from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, March 4, in the East Commons.
For additional information, the U.S. Department of Education suggests the following:
- To ensure you receive future updates, log in to your StudentAid.gov account and confirm they have your current email address.
- Follow Federal Student Aid on social media for resources and announcements.
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