FAFSA Form Delay Continues: Student Financial Aid Wait is Extended Once More
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College-Bound Students Will Have to Wait Until December to Apply for Financial Aid
College-bound students applying for financial aid this year will have to wait until December to start the process, after the Education Department said it would delay the release of the FAFSA following last year’s bungled rollout.
New FAFSA Delay Follows Old FAFSA Delay
Last year, the release of the revised FAFSA form was supposed to be a boon for families by making the application simpler and quicker to fill out. Instead, repeated delays and technical glitches forced colleges to push back deadlines and frustrated financial aid offices and families alike.
What a Phased FAFSA Rollout Means for Families
Millions students fill out the FAFSA every year to access federal grants and student loans, as well as financial aid from states and colleges. The timeline for release is especially important to students who are applying to colleges.
Implications for Students
They usually have to fill out the FAFSA, submit it to the colleges where they’re applying and then wait for financial aid packages before they can find out how much individual colleges will cost. In a typical year, when the form is released at the beginning of October, about half of FAFSAs from high school seniors are filed by Jan. 1, according to the National College Access Network.
Timing and Deadlines
Most financial aid priority deadlines are usually set for January and February. So, assuming the release of the form goes as planned, students who are applying in the regular decision pool shouldn’t see too much disruption from the later launch, says Shannon Vasconcelos, senior director of college finance at Bright Horizons College Coach.
Phased Rollout and Testing Period
The department says it will ask for volunteers to participate in the testing period that will begin in October, starting with hundreds and expanding to tens of thousands of applicants. The goal is to iron out any problems that arise when students actually submit information before opening the form to all families.
Expert Advice
While experts always recommend submitting the FAFSA early in the year, Vasconcelos says there’s no rush to be one of the first to fill it out.
