FAFSA Processing Underway

Your March 15 FAFSA Update

At long last, we can report that student FAFSA processing is underway. Student files are being transmitted to colleges, universities, and state higher education agencies.

It will take a few more weeks for the Department of Education (ED) to reach the finish line.

As of this writing, there isn’t a known number of files transmitted, but the action plan calls for a continual increase until the backlog is cleared.

According to ED, support staff has been dispatched to many institutions to assist with the receiving and processing of student records. Webinars are also being conducted for receiving staff to update and train staff on recent changes.

The new FAFSA is a complete overhaul of the system/process. Last-minute adjustments are not unusual.

What’s Next?

If you haven’t filed your FAFSA, you should do it immediately. Your institutional and state aid (if applicable) may be lower if you file too late.

So far, there has been only one system pause on March 8, but others may follow.

Electronic filers will receive an email when their file has been processed. It is unclear how paper filers will be notified.

Once the email is received, corrections can be made and students can view their Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation.

Previous filers that haven’t submitted a new application will also receive an email.

Students should start to receive their financial aid packages in April.

High school seniors and their families should set aside time, to carefully review and evaluate packages to determine the best option.

As new information is received, it will be posted at the top of this page.

You can read our previous FAFSA posts for background information.

March 15, 2024 Image No Comments

Categories: Financial Aid

The Class of 2028 Has Been Challenged from Beginning to End

A Long and Rocky Road for the Class of 2028

The class of 2028 had been challenged in ways no one could foresee.

First, you had to deal with the pandemic.

Now, you’re dealing with the fallout from the new FAFSA.

This too will pass.

Take pride in the fact that you’ve endured these challenges and look forward to less complicated times.

What’s the Current Status of FAFSA?

According to a report published yesterday, a few dozen colleges have received student FAFSA data.

Details are scant.

KEY QUESTIONS

How were these “small batch” schools selected?

Did the small batch schools include, small, large, public, private, etc. institutions?

Were the test schools able to successfully process the received student files?

Were there Department of Education reps on site to assist with data processing?

If so, when will the next batch go out and how large will it be?

If not, what tweaks need to be made and how long will it take?

Were files sent to state agencies?

Shortly before the referenced article was published the below image was posted on the FSA Twitter account.

As of 3:49 AM this morning, FSA continues to issue EDconnect updates due to discovered performance issues.

Many questions remain unanswered and the clock is ticking, especially for high school seniors – the class of 2028.

The vagueness of these two items and the absence of an announcement of another planned pause is concerning.

How Should You Proceed?

This is a difficult question to answer because this has never happened before.

There isn’t any history to base advice on.

Here are some items to consider:

Don’t panic. It’s easier said than done, but it’s important.
1. Decisions made under duress usually aren’t the best ones.
If you’ve been waiting until the situation settles down, file your FAFSA now.
1. “Late” filers will be at the back of the line for processing, which could negatively impact your institutional and state aid.
If you haven’t heard from an admitting school regarding a commitment delay, call the office.
1. If no extension is granted, is it in your best interest to leave this school on the list?
If all your admitting schools have granted an extension, note the date(s).
1. Most schools moved to May 15 or June 1.
Once you receive your aid packages, carefully review and verify that you understand each offer.
1. You do not have to accept an aid package in its entirety.
2. Reject any part, especially loans that you don’t want or need.
3. Taking on debt for an undergraduate degree rarely makes sense.
4. If you need more aid to attend your preferred school, contact them to appeal.

If you want to learn about many of the underlying issues that caused the process to go off the rails, this article covers most of the salient points.

We will continue to post updates here and on the Education Unpacked YouTube channel.

March 12, 2024 Image No Comments

Categories: High School Seniors | College Students

FAFSA Update – March 6, 2024

Update – March 13, 2024

According to information released by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) last evening, the transmission of student information has or will soon begin to ramp up.

They anticipate being caught up within a “couple of weeks.”

As of this morning, no school we spoke with had received any records. This includes public and private schools, including one Ivy League.

We did not contact any state agencies.

For students who have a contributor without a Social Security number, ED issued this update.

ED continues to issue system fixes as new issues arise.

We remain hopeful that ED will get on track, so students will finally know how much aid they will receive this year.

Your March 2024 FAFSA Update

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it appears it isn’t the Bullet Train.

According to the latest information released by the Dept. of Ed (ED)/Federal Student Aid (FSA), student information, known as Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) will begin to flow to schools and state agencies in the first half of this month.

The Updated FAFSA Process for March 2024

FSA has already started sending out “test” files to allow them to work on any remaining bugs in the system.

Small batch testing of student data (known in the industry as Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs)) will follow to a limited number of selected institutions by mid-March.

There is no public information on which institutions or exactly how many will be the first to receive student data and there isn’t an exact date given. The latest ED release indicated it would be “a few dozen” institutions.

It is important to note that not all universities use the same database system. What works well on one may not function the same on another. We can hope that adequate testing has been performed on each platform.

Online information will be transmitted ahead of paper forms.

The initial sending of information will be limited to a small group of selection institutions. Once all is confirmed to be going well, all concerned parties will start receiving student data in the following weeks.

Yes, weeks. This situation will not be cleared up in a couple of days.

With so many issues (known and unknown) on a still not fully tested platform, it is prudent to proceed this way.

Don’t Delay Submitting Your Application

If you have not already filed your FAFSA, you are encouraged to do it now for two reasons:

The FAFSA (studentsid.gov) system will be paused during the initial transmission of ISIRs. There’s no indication of how long the pause will be.
- The system was offline on 03/08 from 3:00 AM until shortly after noon.
- We’ll let you know of other announced system outages.
Late filers will be held at the back of the line. In other words, if you are the last in – you will be the last out.
1. This could have serious implications for your institutional aid and state aid, if applicable.
  - Most states have priority consideration dates. March 15 in some cases.

You have no control over how ED meets its obligations, but you should do everything possible to be in the best position for maximum aid.

March 7-8, 2024 – UPDATE

This announcement just came to our attention. Plan accordingly.

The application was back online shortly after noon on 03/08.

None of our contacts have reported receiving “real” student data.

Lacking Social Security Numbers

Students who have been unable to file their FAFSAs because their parents lack Social Security numbers will be able to file later this month. Details of how and when are scant, but the promise has been made.

Conclusion

Given all that has happened with this new FAFSA, it’s hard to be confident that all will proceed smoothly from here, but time will tell.

Catch up on what happened over the years with the implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act.

Teshley Financial Aid Archives

March 6, 2024 Image No Comments