COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Because of delays to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, (FAFSA) students will now have a two week window to decide where they'll go to college, based on their financial aid.
The Department of Education says they're trying to help, causing changes that are impacting students. They are taking steps to speed up the process, and financial aid counselors tell me they think it could help both them and students.
"I definitely could not be going to college right now unless I had financial aid," said Ellie Carroll, a junior at UCCS. "So, it's very important."
Carroll says she's enjoyed meeting new people at college, but, a frequent topic of conversation is how to pay for it.
"My boyfriend, he usually gets the Pell Grant, but because they've changed quite a bit he's unable to," said Carroll. "That not only affects his semester here, but it also affects his ability to get other scholarships."
Danielle Sparks, the Assistant Director of Financial Aid at UCCS says the FAFSA Simplification Act is causing some issues. It was meant to make applying for financial aid easier, but led to delays for both students and schools.
"Normally it comes out in October, then we were told December, then they pushed back to the end of December which is when they opened it softly a little bit here and there," said Sparks.
Typically, colleges and universities send out financial aid notices in January. But, the delays mean they won't be able to send them out until mid-April, just two weeks before the standard May 1 decision date.
"For us, the FAFSA data drives almost everything we do as far as financial aid," said Sparks.
The Department of Education says they're taking steps to help speed up the process. They say they are going to reduce the number of applicants who have to go through verification.
Normally, around 30% of students go through that process, which is time-consuming. They say they'll also make it easier for school financial aid departments to notify students about financial information and which scholarships they are eligible for.
"The changes by the Department of Education are reducing that administrative burden, so students may not see an impact on some of those items, they're trying to reduce what we have to do so we can really focus on getting that aid out," said Sparks.
Still, it's leaving students like Carroll feeling uncertain about the future.
"I almost would want to take a semester off to try and figure out my financial situation because I'd rather be prepared and know exactly what I'm getting into than just get thrown into it," said Carroll.
Financial aid counselors still believe the best thing to do is to push back the standard May 1 decision date for most schools throughout the country. By doing this, students can have more time to make an informed decision about their education.
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