The US Department of Education (ED) announced today that colleges and universities
will receive Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applicant data beginning in the first half of March, up to six weeks later than the expected January 31 date, which was already delayed by the later opening of
the 2024-25 FAFSA. Today’s statement said the delay was due to the need to update the federal processing system to include the recently revised data tables used in the Student Aid Index calculation. The updated tables account for inflation and will
yield approximately $1.8 billion in additional need-based federal aid, ED said.
“Today’s news further compresses an already strained timeframe for students to receive aid offers and make decisions about their college-going,” National College Attainment Network (NCAN) CEO Kim Cook said. “Students and counselors will need additional flexibility with the traditional May 1 commitment deadline so we stand a chance at continuing the post-pandemic college enrollment recovery under way for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.”
ED sends the data from completed FAFSAs to the colleges designated by applicants as Institutional Student Information Reports (ISIRs). Depending on the size of ISIR batches, it could take days or possibly weeks to complete the transfers. Then colleges
typically need a couple of weeks to load the data, test their systems, and model award amounts. As a result, the earliest aid offers to students would likely arrive in early to mid-April - about four months later than usual.
This latest timing shift would leave college access advisors and high school counselors with as little as two weeks to support their entire caseload of students to evaluate financial aid offers in advance of traditional May 1 commitment deadlines from
colleges. NCAN member organizations report that the FAFSA delays are taking a big toll on students and families as well as those who assist them, reducing their confidence that they will be able to assemble the aid they need. Some students may decide
to forego college entirely, or they might rush into accepting an aid package they don’t understand that will leave them with unpaid balances after matriculation.
Today’s news comes while we know that the new FAFSA is not yet better for all students and families. Contributors without Social Security numbers cannot access the online form, preventing mixed status families from completing it. Many other students need
to make corrections, and all of the three million-plus filers to date await receipt of their FAFSA submission summaries. NCAN is working every day to deliver feedback to ED and communicate the urgency of the situation.
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