Few college admissions cycles have been as difficult for students as this one.
National College Decision Day—the deadline most schools set for deciding on a college—is just two weeks away. But many college applicants are still unsure of where they stand financially as problems persist with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
“This is make or break for students,” said Ellie Bruecker, interim director of research at the Institute for College Access and Success. “We’re really concerned that high school seniors have to make decisions about where to go to college — or whether to go to college — with such limited information.”
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In ordinary years, financial aid award letters are sent around the same time as early spring admissions offers, giving students a month or more to make informed enrollment decisions before National College Decision Day on May 1.
For most students and their families, the college they choose depends on the amount of financial aid offered and the distribution between grants, scholarships, work-study opportunities, and student loans.
However, this year, those award letters have been significantly delayed as the Department of Education works to resolve ongoing issues with the new form. Even some applications that were submitted early now need to be submitted reprocessed due to problems with the applicants’ tax details.
Decision deadlines have been pushed back to May 15 or later
To that end, many colleges and universities have pushed back enrollment deadlines until May 15 or later, according to the National Association of College Admissions Counseling.
Amherst CollegePurdue University and Pepperdine University are among the colleges and universities with a May 15 decision deadline this year.
“I hope that, given the May 15 RSVP date, students will be able to make informed decisions about where to enroll,” said Matthew McGann, Amherst’s dean of admissions and financial aid. “I also hope this extension will alleviate some of the stress students are feeling as they enter the final stages of this year’s college admissions process.”
Some schools also consider the added flexibility. At Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, for example, students who confirm their enrollment by May 15 will have a period to reconsider once they receive their financial aid offer, allowing for a full refund of their deposit.
Other colleges, including Colorado State, Oklahoma State and Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, are moving the deadline back to June 1.
“We’re really just trying to encourage our campuses to be as flexible as possible,” said Charles Welch, president and CEO of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. “Our No. 1 concern is making sure we give students every opportunity they can to make financial eligibility decisions.”
Some institutions, such as Fisher College in Boston, even pushed back the deadlines until July.
But all eight private colleges that make up the Ivy League are sticking with May 1.
Most elite institutions probably “aren’t that concerned about managing their enrollment,” said Bruecker of the Institute on College Access and Success.
“I would wager that these institutions have fewer students with financial need or can offer institutional aid,” he said.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling has created a list of most registration deadlines stand now Here is the list.