Are you wondering why your student hasn’t received their financial aid package yet? Actually, if you’re involved in this process, you may already know. The FAFSA—the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is—to put it mildly—out of whack this year. Here’s what’s gong on behind the scenes and what being done to fix it.
For background, the department of education was given a mandate by Congress to make changes in financial aid availability for students. For example, have you ever felt the FAFSA form was too long and too difficult to complete? Congress felt that way, too. They told the department of education to simplify the form and make it easier to complete. They also wanted more students to qualify for a Pell grant, a form of gift aid that isn’t repaid like a loan. So, the changes that were made in the FAFSA overhaul were designed to make financial aid more available to students.
The financial aid formula uses three years worth of data to calculate how much aid a student is eligible for. And the changes pushed by Congress would protect more of a family’s income from being counted in the aid formula. This would mean that earning slightly more money wouldn’t lower the financial aid a student could receive. But that only works when the formula is adjusted for inflation, which it wasn’t. This glitch resulted in $1.8 billion less being available in aid for all students, especially those who are low-income.
The only way to fix this problem and the methodology, was to delay FAFSA results for millions of students. The department normally starts sending out information to students and colleges about financial aid eligibility in mid-January. According to some sources, this information will be delayed until at least March of this year, or perhaps April. This is the pressure point that is causing so much anxiety. Most families have to consider financial aid when making a final decision about colleges. Yet now, they’re less able to do it because of the flawed methodology of the FAFSA. Fortunately, colleges are fully aware of this squeeze on students and their families.
May 1 is when most colleges want to receive enrollment deposits from their new students. This has been a standard since I was in college decades ago. But that isn’t likely to be the case this year. Many schools are pushing that date back to give students and their families more time to make their commitment. And they’ve been supported in this by several state and national educational organizations.
The department of education also supports this delay. Further, they are helping by reducing some of their verification activities to streamline the process. Verification is the process by which the department ensures that the information being submitted on the FAFSA is accurate. No one likes verification, but it is a necessary evil to reduce financial aid fraud. But the department is willing to lower that bar this year to help more students receive their financial aid packages sooner. They’re also sending teams of federal financial aid experts to under-resourced schools to help them navigate the process. Further, they allocated $50 million in additional technical training to schools.
The first thing I’d recommend is to contact your student’s financial aid office. Ask them about pushing back your student’s enrollment deposit date if they’re an entering student. In addition, ask what specific measures they’re taking to process your student’s financial aid package more quickly. While it’s unlikely your student’s financial aid office isn’t already considering changes to their processes and dates given the FAFSA problem, this is not a time to be timid. Ask them what’s being done and don’t be shy about advocating for your student. Ask if they could run a preliminary aid package, or perhaps increase your student’s merit aid to close a gap you’re anticipating.
If your student is continuing in college, their financial aid office already has a sense of their eligibility from previous years. While this isn’t a perfect prediction of this year’s eligibility, they may choose to offer your student a preliminary package that is similar to the current year. This may ease your anxiety and your student’s.
I don’t suggest pointing fingers at the department of education, Congress or your student’s college. Stuff happens, and this problem resulted from well-intentioned changes to the financial aid system. Let’s do what we can together to reduce any harm that may come to students and their families.
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