As the Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid experiences launching and processing delays, incoming college students across the country are enrolling for school without knowing if they will receive financial aid.
In response, Utah State University has extended its priority academic scholarship deadline for all incoming undergraduate students to June 1.
One of the biggest issues with the 2024-25 rollout of the FAFSA was the delayed application release. Typically, students can access the FAFSA on Oct. 1 of each year. However, the 2024-25 FAFSA form wasn’t available until Dec. 31, 2023 — a near three month delay.
Katie North is an assistant vice president and the executive director of new student enrollment.
“Normally, we award FAFSA federally in about February. This year, we were able to award federally for the first time last month,” North said. “I think because of that, a lot of students had to delay their decision on where they’re going to attend school because they didn’t know their financial packaging.”
As issues and delays occur, concerns about students making decisions without the full picture arise.
“The fear on our side is that students will not go to school, take a gap year or won’t move away from home because they haven’t had that full offer on the table,” North said. “We’re encouraging students to confirm enrollment early. They can always change their mind, but let’s help them get everything ready, so when that financial aid award comes, they haven’t missed those opportunities.”
These delays come as a result of a complete overhaul to the FAFSA as part of a nationwide effort to make the process more streamlined and amend the Federal Pell Grant Program.
Craig Whyte is an assistant vice president and the executive director of student financial services.
“The old FAFSA had been around for decades with minor, small adjustments,” Whyte said. “This year, it’s a complete revamp of the system.”
Changes include a significant drop in the number of questions, from the previous 100 to as few as 18. Tax information can now be electronically imported to the FAFSA from the IRS, saving time families would spend in search of old tax returns.
“Sometimes it’s going so quickly that students wonder if they did it right,” Whyte said. “They’re submitting it in five or six minutes, whereas before it was 28 to 35 minutes.”
Federal aid is now calculated based on the Student Aid Index instead of Expected Family Contribution to take a more accurate look at a student’s situation and ensure those who need financial aid receive it.
“The Department of Education and the federal government is trying to invest more into students to have the opportunity to pursue higher education,” Whyte said.
These changes have not just caused a delay in release, but a multitude of glitches and technical problems, which have furthered the setbacks of families trying to complete the form.
Many of these reported issues center around students or contributors with no social security number who are unable to access the form. Some of these glitches have either been resolved or given a workaround, but there are still some with no given solution.
“We’re happy to visit with students that find themselves in this situation,” Whyte said. “It is something the Department of Education has been working on, but if students have questions, they can contact our office, and we can talk to them about what we’re seeing and refer them to the right department for one-on-one help.”
With how much the FAFSA has changed, Whyte said an adjustment period is to be expected.
“It’s not just revamping an application like a PDF or a webform,” Whyte said. “It was a very aggressive move forward in what was a system that was a little archaic in technology and capability.”
While many of the major hurdles in the new FAFSA release have been overcome, there are still many tweaks to be made and errors to be fixed between the current cycle and the next.
“I’m hopeful that between May and September — so the next four to five months — the Department of Education can get a lot of work done to launch the FAFSA as soon as possible,” Whyte said. “I don’t know that I’m confident it will open Oct. 1, but hopefully it will open in October or November.”
A variety of factors play into a student’s decision to attend college, with finances being one of the biggest and most complex. A 2023 survey from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that 55% of adults who didn’t enter postsecondary education did so because of the cost of the degree.
Incoming students must consider housing costs, textbook and student fees and overall cost of living on top of hefty tuition rates. The same study indicated that 60% of unenrolled adults believed scholarships and grants would help raise attendance and alleviate this financial barrier.
“There’s a bigger picture that the federal aid plays into,” North said. “We want to make sure students have as much time as possible to make the decisions they need to be ready for fall.”
Many public, private and departmental scholarships and grants are awarded based on financial aid, or completion of the FAFSA.
“Our Utah State Promise is a scholarship we offer that covers the difference a Pell Grant doesn’t, up to tuition and fees. We can’t award that till financial aid is awarded,” North said. “It’s beyond just a Pell Grant, it’s getting the entire financial offer on the table for students.”
North encourages all students to complete their FAFSA because the Utah State Promise is awarded until funds run out.
According to FAFSA Tracker, Utah ranks second lowest in FAFSA completion rates out of all 51 states or territories, with only 27% of Utah’s 12th-grade students completing their applications. Every year, scholarships like the Utah State Promise go unutilized.
“There are millions of dollars every year in Pell Grants that get left on the table because students don’t apply,” North said.
There are many reasons why students don’t apply — the National Center for Education Statistics found that 33% of students thought they may be ineligible, 28% feared taking on debt and 23% lacked the resources to complete their FAFSA.
“The university will never distribute a loan without talking to the student first and making sure they understand what it means,” Whyte said. “Perhaps they choose to get married, a family member dies or a parent goes without income. There’s a lot of unknowns, and so knowing you have access to a loan, if needed, is a really good thing to do.”
With the changes made to the FAFSA form, an estimated 610,000 additional students will qualify for Pell Grants and other opportunities.
“There’s this view that, ‘oh, I won’t qualify,’” North said. “Maybe it’s not a Pell Grant, but maybe it’s a work study. There’s other opportunities beyond just the Pell Grant. With some of the changes, I think they’re offering more money, and students need to apply to find out.”
North hopes students make the most of the university’s resources by filling out the FAFSA and working with the financial aid office.
“Utah State never wants money to be the reason students can’t come,” North said. “We’ve got opportunities by campuses, we’ve got fellowships and federal aid. Our student Money Management Center is amazing at sitting down with students and helping them figure out how to pay for school. We want to make sure that barrier doesn’t stop students from becoming Aggies.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
There are no comments
Add yours