info@teshley.com March 20, 2024 Image 2 Financial Aid High School Seniors | College Students

FAFSA – Will the Department of Education Meet Its Timeline?

Earlier this month Federal Student Aid placed a FAFSA application processing timeline.

It outlines the expected actions by the department, schools, and state agencies over the next two months.

Based on the discussions with colleges and universities, the answer to the opening question is “No.”

As of 3:45 PM on Monday, March 18, none of the schools we contacted via email or telephone reported receiving any ISIRs.

The schools we contacted include small, large, public, and private – one HBCU and one Ivy League. It is an across-the-board absence of data.

This does not mean that no schools have received ISIRs, but it does imply that the Department of Education (ED) has not met its reported targets.

This does not bode well for current or prospective college students.

This is a continuation of a troubling pattern for this year’s FAFSA.

We published a post on March 15 that included this screenshot.

One has to ask, “What constitutes a large batch?”

A Big Problem

While conducting our random checks, one source highlighted a critical oversight, which was reported by the New York Times.

The article was published two days after the above screenshot from the FSA Twitter page.

More FSA Timeline Questions

Another sign of trouble comes from the emails students are receiving from FSA.

Online corrections will be available in the coming weeks – on March 19?

That means the fully processed applications won’t be ready to send to schools or state agencies, until April.

The affected students likely won’t receive their aid packages until the end of April.

This will be a major issue for high school seniors and college students planning to attend summer classes.

Many schools haven’t extended their commitment/deposit deadlines, which is unfortunate. Incoming freshman will have little to no time to carefully evaluate their financial aid packages, and make an informed choice.

What’s Next?

At this point, that is an impossible question to answer.

The best that can be hoped for is that the DE will redouble its efforts to get back on track with the revised timeline.

The delays cause issues for all involved.

Schools are teetering on the brink of extinction. Any drop in enrollment/revenue could be the end for them.

Schools that also require the CSS Profile are basing their preliminary scholarship offers on the data received from the College Board data.

If your school(s) only uses the FAFSA, you are at the mercy of the present situation, which is not optimal.

Try to determine where you’ll land in the process.

Did you file early?

This puts you at the front of the line for processing.

Is your data complete?

Your email from FAFSA will let you know.

Have you used the FAFSA estimator tool?

It’s been reported the estimator is fairly accurate.

Are you in contact with the Office of Financial Aid?

Ask if they will work with you while you and they wait for your FAFSA information.

Have any of your prospective schools extended the deposit/commitment deadline?

If some have and some haven’t, reconsider those that haven’t. Are they truly a good fit?

Question of last resort—

Is community college an option for a year or two?

It’s something to consider, especially if you have the option to attend a school with a solid reputation for sending students on to 4-year institutions.