U.S. colleges and universities will not accept applications for financial aid from students until at least early March, the Education Department said Tuesday.
This delay follows the department's decision to correct an error in how students' aid eligibility was calculated. The modifications apply to students entering college in the 2024-25 school year.
Typically, student data from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is received by schools in late fall or early winter, shortly after students begin accepting applications in October.
However, the smooth rollout of the new, simplified FAFSA form mandated by Congress in 2020 means current students will not be able to fully access the application until the first week of 2024, which means there will be a delay in receiving financial aid offers from schools for the following school year. It's a signal. inevitable.
Then, earlier this month, the Department for Education confirmed it had failed to update tables used to calculate a student's family's eligibility based on inflation.
That series of incidents ultimately led to Tuesday's announcement.
“The very day that schools were expecting FAFSA applicant information, they were instead informed by the U.S. Department of Education that they should not expect to receive that data until March at the earliest,” said Justin Draeger, president of the national association. in a statement Tuesday from the Student Financial Aid Administrator.
“These ongoing delays, delivered at the last minute, risk harming the very students and families that federal student aid is intended to help.”
In a statement announcing the latest postponement, the department acknowledged that students would not be able to edit the form at this time and would not be able to do so until the first half of March.
Draeger added, “This final news has once again left our university in a state of confusion to determine how best to work within these new timelines to issue support offers as quickly as possible.” He added that financially vulnerable students should not be targeted. “Pay for these mistakes.”
The department's website lists several other issues with the new form that affect applicants, including one that prevents students whose parents lack a Social Security number from applying.
In a recent statement, the department said 3.1 million FAFSA forms have been successfully submitted since the redesigned application went into effect. A department spokesperson had no further comment beyond today's statement.
“A better FAFSA makes it as simple and easy as possible for families to get help paying for college, and updating our tables will help more students get the help they need,” said U.S. Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal in a statement. “It will help,” he said.
“Updating the calculations will help ensure students qualify for as much financial aid as possible. We are grateful to our financial aid counselors, college counselors, and others who help us put our students first.”