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After months of waiting due to the new FAFSA implementation, disbursement of the Middle Class Scholarship began for eligible Sacramento State students on March 12.
Sac State students received an email on Aug. 27 stating that the scholarship would be awarded two months later. Another email was received on Oct. 24 stating that the awarding process was pushed to November.
Shelveen Ratnam is the communications & public affairs coordinator for the California Student Aid Commission, the organization responsible for disbursing the Middle Class Scholarship.
“CSAC utilizes enrollment and financial aid data received from institutions to estimate the amount of aid that can be provided to all MCS recipients to maximize the use of the annual appropriation while not exceeding it.” Ratnam said.
RELATED: FAQ: Everything you need to know about the Middle Class Scholarship
On Dec. 31, 2023, it was announced by Federal Student Aid on its website that some key changes would be made to the 2024-25 FAFSA process, including adding contributors, additional consent for transferring IRS information, requiring a StudentAid account to access the FAFSA form and more.
The deadline for the 2024-25 FAFSA application was also moved to May 2, 2024 and the application’s release was delayed. Ratnam said these changes were the main reason for the delay.
“The financial aid packaging process on campuses [was] delayed by the impacts from the implementation of the new FAFSA,” Ratnam said. “Which led to delayed submission of enrollment and financial aid data.”
Aster Yera, a junior film major said they experienced difficulties in receiving the scholarship.
“It’s just a mess, because even though you’re offered an amount, you don’t know if that amount is concrete or when it will come in,” Yera said. “So you don’t know if you actually have to pay things out of pocket before that grant money is able to be given back to you.”
Yera transferred to Sac State from Cal State Fullerton, where they had first received the Middle Class Scholarship award around fall 2022 and spring 2023. While at CSUF, they said they experienced multiple long holds for disbursement, but did eventually receive the money.
“It just would take up to a month after the payments were due for it to process, sometimes,” Yera said.
RELATED: Middle Class Scholarship continues to help Sac State students
During the 2021-22 school year, the Legislative Analyst’s Office approved an increase in funds in the California state budget supporting the implementation of “Middle Class Scholarship 2.0” starting the following academic year.
With the funding increased from around $1.17 million to $6.32 million, this new version of the scholarship came with eligibility changes intended to allow more students to receive the award and potentially increase their award amount depending on their circumstances.
Edgar Perez, a senior construction management major, has been a Middle Class Scholarship recipient since last year. Perez first received a notification alerting him of the award in fall 2024.
“I was worried about that because the date for me kept getting pushed back and pushed back,” Perez said. “I was expecting to receive it early in the semester. I had lost hope in possibly receiving it, so I think I might’ve just gotten lucky.”
According to Perez, as a result of financial uncertainty he has had to take out around $3000 to $5000 in loans per semester in order to afford tuition.
“It’s unfortunate, I used to get the grants and that would help out,” Perez said. “It affects me in that way where I know I’m going to have this financial burden, just to get this degree.”
Perez said he has tried to contact the financial aid office, but had trouble reaching them for help. He said the unreliability he experienced with the Middle Class Scholarship had him worried and he said he now knows not to rely too much on the award for payments.
Sac State’s financial aid office did not respond to The State Hornet’s request for comment.
According to an email statement from Sac State, the delay of the Middle Class Scholarship was no more than five days.
Ciaran Henderson, a senior history major, works part-time as an instructional student aide for the history department. He said his position doesn’t pay much and he relies on financial aid to pay for his academic and living expenses.
“I’m not in college if I don’t have financial aid.” Henderson said. “As things get more expensive, the financial aid is getting smaller. It’s getting harder to fill in the gaps, like my checking account is usually at about $4 by finals week. It’s scary.”
Henderson said he is grateful for getting a refund, but the delays in disbursement has him worried about whether he will be able to pay for his living expenses.
“I think waiting for months for it to be held up is not only stressful for students, but it’s stressful on the wallet too,” Henderson said. “Textbooks are only getting more expensive, teachers are asking for more and more, food’s getting more expensive and I don’t foresee it getting better.”
RELATED: Middle Class Scholarship can cut tuition by 40 percent
Chris Langford, a senior psychology major, said he has noticed a few holds and disbursement delays surrounding the Middle Class Scholarship. He said he was concerned disbursement would not happen until March, two months after Spring tuition is due.
“It takes a long time for it to hit my account or to pay for my classes,” Langford said. “I’ve noticed it would have paid for my classes in January, but it hasn’t.”
Langford said he tried to contact the financial aid office about the Middle Class Scholarship before disbursement. Langford said he was told by the financial aid office that he would “only be getting [the Middle Class Scholarship this semester and not money from FAFSA.”
Ratnam said that there are efforts being made by CSAC to ensure the disbursement for spring 2025 semester.
“CSAC is diligently working with campus partners to ensure all the data necessary is submitted,” Ratman said. “So we can properly make adjustments, and disburse aid for the spring term.”
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