The New FAFSA Situation

Normally, FAFSA opens up in October for the following school year. I always encourage families to fill this out right away, as the sooner you get it in, the better your chances of getting financial aid awards from schools. You will also simply have an idea of what your final costs will look like in order to make an informed decision. I hope to be able to offer this advise again in the next cycle starting this fall.

This year, however, has been quite challenging. The government rolled out a new FAFSA form in order to make applying easier for everyone. The opposite has transpired, unfortunately. The application did not become available until right around the beginning of this year. Colleges have been informed that they won't be receiving the information from the FAFSA from families who have filled it out already until at least late March. Some schools have even opted to extend decision deadlines for students so that they can have some idea of what they might have to pay. But that delay also delays students who might be sitting on wait lists at their dream schools. When will they find out if they get in? They are now more frequently having to put deposits down on other schools as they wait longer to find out.

There are no good answers. As a parent with a student in college, I am in the same boat as you. The best thing you can do at this point is call the schools and ask if they have any independent forms they are using to make their decisions for in-house financial aid. For example, many private schools require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA, so make sure you have that in and just touch base with the institution to see if there is anything else you can provide.

We will get through this snafu of a year for financial aid, and hopefully it will all run more smoothly next year!