Students applying for college will have to wait longer for their financial aid packages. News4’s Susan Hogan explains.
Students applying for college will have to wait longer for their financial aid packages.
Colleges won’t receive Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, applicant information until early March, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday. The data was initially expected in late January.
The department said it recently updated a key part of the FAFSA formula that used outdated inflation figures.
“Updated [student aid index] tables will allow students to benefit from an additional $1.8 billion in aid and ensure that all students can access the maximum financial aid they are eligible for,” the department said in a statement.
Schools are waiting on the FAFSA information to begin building financial aid packages to give to students and families. The delay shortens the time families have to compare aid offers from schools.
This puts millions of students in limbo, the president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators told NBC News.
“On the very day that schools were expecting FAFSA applicant information, they were instead notified by the U.S. Department of Education that they shouldn’t expect to receive that data until March, at the earliest," Justin Draeger said in a statement.
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"These continued delays, communicated at the last minute, threaten to harm the very students and families that federal student aid is intended to help," Draeger said.
Education officials promised a better FAFSA system that will “help students qualify for as much financial aid as possible.”
Andrea Swalec contributed to this article.
