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

The New FAFSA – What Comes Next?

The launch of the new FAFSA has been -insert you’re preferred adjective.

To say it’s been a wild ride would be a serious understatement.

What Happened?

Launching a brand new and not fully tested platform on a holiday weekend was an invitation for disaster.

Disaster accepted the invite.

The system was barely accessible in the first few days.

Users were held in waiting rooms sometimes for hours.

When users were finally admitted to the system, many found the experience glitchy or they were kicked out.

It was the perfect storm.

• Maximum number of users
• Minimum available personnel
• Untested platform

No Apology Issued

Given all that has gone so terribly wrong, it would have been prudent for the ED to issue an apology.

It wouldn’t have fixed anything, but at least, it would have acknowledged and given respect to the frustration and headaches of students, their families, state agencies, and schools.

Perhaps we missed it, but we certainly haven’t seen it.

Troubling Developments

On March 1, the FSA issued a fix for the newly released EDConnect software that institutions use to access and process student data.

The last release was on February 27, which means less than a week later a new fix was needed because some users couldn’t access the system due to file corruption.

 At this stage, all but the most minor details should be resolved.

Congress Giveth | Congress Taketh Away

Congress passed a new Continuing Resolution that will not provide full funding for the expansion of Pell Grant eligibility. More students will qualify for grants, but not as many as expected by the 2020 FAFSA Simplification Act.

This move appears inconsistent with the original legislation and the ED’s pledge to fix the income tables.

According to information we’ve received the FSA has incorporated the new adjustments.

The positive impacts for low-income students will not be as broad as intended by the original bipartisan legislation, which is disappointing, but not surprising given the current political environment.

Current Timeline

If the Department of Education sticks to its revised timeline, colleges, and state agencies will receive student information by the second week of this month.

Once state agencies and schools receive the data, packages should start going out to students as soon as possible.

If all goes well and without further delay, students will start to receive their packages by the end of March or the beginning of April.

Given recent events with FAFSA, these are very big ifs, but we remain hopeful.

Additional Reading

Financial Aid Archives – (teshley.com)

US Department of Education supports colleges and students amid FAFSA delays | Fox Business

FAFSA delays prompt feds to audit fewer students, schools (msn.com)

The Loophole for Grandparents in the New FAFSA Rules – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

The Fallout from FAFSA Isn’t Over

The fallout from the new FAFSA launch continues to impact many people.

Of course, all college students, who rely on financial aid are stressed not knowing how much aid they will receive this year, but incoming students are the most seriously affected.

The class of 2028 is in limbo because schools won’t receive student information until next month – probably mid-March. This means students won’t receive their financial aid packages until April, which doesn’t leave adequate time to make an informed decision.

What that information will look like and how college financial aid administrators will process it remains unknown.

The U.S. Department of Education has pledged to aid in the processing of student data by dispatching personnel to help.

There’s also been an easing in the verification process.

Given the disastrous launch and subsequent delays caused by department errors, it’s difficult to be optimistic. 

See updated information on FAFSA processing progress.

Giving Students a Little Breathing Room

In response to the ongoing situation, some colleges and universities have already announced an extension to the usual May 1 commitment/deposit date.

Here are the ones that have come to our attention. They have been reported by more than one media outlet. If you are aware of others, please comment below.

We will continue to update the list as new information comes in, but it will not be in real-time and is not represented as a full accounting of all schools with adjusted dates.

FAFSA Isn’t Just for Federal Aid

If you’re attending school in your home state and haven’t filed your FAFSA, now is the time to file your app.

States rely upon FAFSA data for their financial aid awards. Most states have priority consideration deadlines. Many states have extended these deadlines, but the clock is ticking.

If you sat out the early round logjam it’s understandable, but don’t miss your best opportunity for state funds to go along with the federal dollars.

You don’t want to leave money on the table – every dollar counts to avoid taking out loans.

Moving Forward

We will keep you posted on further developments, as information is released.

With pressure mounting from all directions on the ED, we remain hopeful that the road ahead will be smoother.

Time will tell.

We’ve been blogging about the changes to FAFSA since 2022. You can read all that has happened with FAFSA by reading our previous financial aid posts.