February should be an exciting time for high school seniors. It’s when acceptance letters begin trickling in from colleges, along with scholarship awards and estimated financial aid packages.
It should be. But this year, it isn’t.
Instead, many families are anxious and uncertain as they confront a crisis that undermines their ability to plan for the future. Mired in technical glitches and delays, the US Department of Education’s efforts to modernize, streamline, and improve the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) has set the process back four months and counting.
The federal financial aid process usually begins when the FAFSA opens on Oct. 1. But for the 2024-2025 school year, the form wasn’t available to students and families until early January.
At the end of January, the federal Department of Education announced further delays. Students are now projected to receive information about their financial aid packages in mid-March. Decisions about which college to attend, which often depend heavily on how much financial aid a student may receive, are usually due by May 1.
No student or family should have to rush to decide where to go to college — decide what the next four years will look like — without knowing exactly how cost and other factors will affect them in the long-term.
Thankfully, there is a reasonable remedy for this dilemma if our higher education partners act with intention: All colleges should extend the deadline for students to commit from May 1 to June 1.
This additional month will give students and families more time to evaluate award letters and packages, to make sure they are making the decision that works best for their learning and career exploration goals.
In January, several organizations in the financial aid and college access community signed on to a letter urging schools to give students more time to commit. In the letter, the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and the National College Attainment Network note that a precedent for extending the college commitment deadline already exists.
“During the pandemic, many institutions extended their enrollment, scholarship, and financial aid deadlines beyond the traditional May 1 date, and we urge institutions to make similar accommodations this year,” they wrote. “We all want students and families to have the time they need to consider their financial options before making enrollment decisions.”
Students and families should not have to pay for the problems caused by this year’s FAFSA. Colleges should do what they can to ensure students — especially first-time students — launch successfully into their college careers.
Andrew Bramson is the president and chief executive officer of Onward We Learn, a college access and success nonprofit that serves more than 4,000 Rhode Island students annually.