Where is the dang FAFSA?!

[Anonymous]

The inability to use it completely undermines many students' EA and ED applications, decisions, and strategies. What a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I wonder is what, if any, impact will this have on the admissions cycle? There must be ED admits waiting to see what their aid offers will be before accepting and withdrawing elsewhere, right? Will it slow down movement of people off the wait list if aid offers are delayed? At this point it seems like it could totally mess up the timeline this cycle. Am I wrong? (Yes, I have a senior applying, and am waiting anxiously for the form to come out).

I think the biggest income will be on the lower-middle class. Poor kids will get lots of aid, even if the offer comes in late. Wealthy kids won't get any, but their families already know that. We're a family for whom this stupid form could actually make a difference in my kids' decisions.

How so?

Not previous poster, but we also have a HS Senior waiting... if we get any aid, including federal loans, our kid could go OOS like he hopes too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I was a betting person - I would guess they are going to kick it to the Tuesday after MLK day.
I have worked in launching tools and if it is not up now - they have some bugs that are concerns. These are not things that typically are fixed in an hour at this point in time in the development of a new solution.

Agreed, but they should have announced something. It is a lie to say that there is a soft launch when the button to launch the form hasn't been clickable for the last 13 hours. It is waiting everyone's time and ratcheting up anxiety. The Secretary of Ed needs to post something.

Congress required the form to be available before 1/1/2024. The Soft Launch appears to be an agency effort to be able to say that they complied with the deadline, barely. It was available, briefly, and then closed. I suspect nobody has successfully submitted it.

None of the information will be transmitted to schools before the end of January anyway. (Many schools have stated this clearly on their websites and in admission portals). So, in a sense, there's no rush. The whole thing is, of course, a debacle, and sadly, it pushes back admissions decisions because aid packages won't be released until March or April. I suspect the May 1 drop dead date for college selection will remain. What this might do is really hurt kids on wait lists who are hoping spots open up at schools and will have to wait, perhaps into May and June before they really know.

Wait lists are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Early Action has become the preferred application method and schools can easily fill their classes long before the May 1 deadline. But it also means that there's less room on wait lists since schools can use regular admission to fill their classes and avoid the wait lists altogether.

Unfortunately, schools that offer merit scholarships are now pushing back their announcement of those until later in the spring (because they package it with federal aid as well and they don't have the FAFSA information).

It kind of goes without saying, but the Federal Government isn't built to "solve problems" and "operate efficiently." In fact, quite the opposite, by design. Unfortunately, we've delegated the affordability of a college education to the Federal Government....probably not the best move.

So who should handle affordability of a college education?

Start with the schools themselves. It's easy to increase the cost of attendance when you can fund it with federal loans that are guaranteed and require reimbursement. The school gets its money. The government then chases the student around for a few decades collecting on the loans. The school has no skin in the game. This is a messed up system and the person getting screwed is the student. Schools gladly accept funds - theirs to keep forever - while the student gets saddled with the debt that follows them forever. This inevitably leads to a conversation about personal responsibility as well. Borrowing significant funds to pay for college may just not be the best call. Especially when there are affordable educational opportunities all over the place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I wonder is what, if any, impact will this have on the admissions cycle? There must be ED admits waiting to see what their aid offers will be before accepting and withdrawing elsewhere, right? Will it slow down movement of people off the wait list if aid offers are delayed? At this point it seems like it could totally mess up the timeline this cycle. Am I wrong? (Yes, I have a senior applying, and am waiting anxiously for the form to come out).

I think the biggest income will be on the lower-middle class. Poor kids will get lots of aid, even if the offer comes in late. Wealthy kids won't get any, but their families already know that. We're a family for whom this stupid form could actually make a difference in my kids' decisions.

They don’t have to make the decision and commit for four months.

You also probably know what your actual budget is, so once the numbers come in they are either above or below that line.

Panic time is when it’s March 25 and the aid numbers aren’t ready, not January 2. There are many schools out there still accepting applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I wonder is what, if any, impact will this have on the admissions cycle? There must be ED admits waiting to see what their aid offers will be before accepting and withdrawing elsewhere, right? Will it slow down movement of people off the wait list if aid offers are delayed? At this point it seems like it could totally mess up the timeline this cycle. Am I wrong? (Yes, I have a senior applying, and am waiting anxiously for the form to come out).

I think the biggest income will be on the lower-middle class. Poor kids will get lots of aid, even if the offer comes in late. Wealthy kids won't get any, but their families already know that. We're a family for whom this stupid form could actually make a difference in my kids' decisions.

They don’t have to make the decision and commit for four months.

You also probably know what your actual budget is, so once the numbers come in they are either above or below that line.

Panic time is when it’s March 25 and the aid numbers aren’t ready, not January 2. There are many schools out there still accepting applications.

I think you're right; however, please consider the following. An increasing number of Early Action applicants have been accepted but cannot determine which school to attend because they don't have their financial package yet (which includes possible loans AND merit scholarships). So, the school does not - and cannot - know how many spots they have or will have until late in the game. This means that regular applicants may be waitlisted in larger numbers. The May 1 deadline looms, and there may be spots opening up well after that date, which may require some families to place a deposit on their second choice knowing they'll lose it if a spot - which in normal years might have been available weeks or months ahead of May 1 - doesn't open up until May 15 or later. It's not ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I wonder is what, if any, impact will this have on the admissions cycle? There must be ED admits waiting to see what their aid offers will be before accepting and withdrawing elsewhere, right? Will it slow down movement of people off the wait list if aid offers are delayed? At this point it seems like it could totally mess up the timeline this cycle. Am I wrong? (Yes, I have a senior applying, and am waiting anxiously for the form to come out).

I think the biggest income will be on the lower-middle class. Poor kids will get lots of aid, even if the offer comes in late. Wealthy kids won't get any, but their families already know that. We're a family for whom this stupid form could actually make a difference in my kids' decisions.

They don’t have to make the decision and commit for four months.

You also probably know what your actual budget is, so once the numbers come in they are either above or below that line.

Panic time is when it’s March 25 and the aid numbers aren’t ready, not January 2. There are many schools out there still accepting applications.

I think you're right; however, please consider the following. An increasing number of Early Action applicants have been accepted but cannot determine which school to attend because they don't have their financial package yet (which includes possible loans AND merit scholarships). So, the school does not - and cannot - know how many spots they have or will have until late in the game. This means that regular applicants may be waitlisted in larger numbers. The May 1 deadline looms, and there may be spots opening up well after that date, which may require some families to place a deposit on their second choice knowing they'll lose it if a spot - which in normal years might have been available weeks or months ahead of May 1 - doesn't open up until May 15 or later. It's not ideal.

Right. I am the PP. We DO know what our budget is, but trust me, an extra few thousand here or there makes a difference for a lot of people. Plus, I like this person's explanation. It creates extra chaos and uncertainty.

[Anonymous]

The May deadline looms? It’s 5 months away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The May deadline looms? It’s 5 months away.

And they blew past the October deadline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The May deadline looms? It’s 5 months away.

Well, really more like 4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone been able to actually access it yet?

I was able to do my part yesterday and daughter finished her part today. We are done. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The May deadline looms? It’s 5 months away.

Well, really more like 4

DOE won't even be getting back to schools until the end of January. Then the schools need to take in the data and determine what packages they want to offer to admitted students. And the. Convey that info in a timeframe that might allow families to take all their options into consideration before making a decision. May will be here quickly.

[Anonymous]

I read the funny article in the NYT today about a dad and his daughter waiting all weekend for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The May deadline looms? It’s 5 months away.

Out of context. The May deadline looms - right after schools finally release financial aid/merit packages in late March (if we're lucky) or early to mid April. This, as opposed to prior years when you might know financial aid options in January.