In an already difficult year for college applicants, when it came time to choose a school, there was one factor that stood above all others: financial aid.
Even in normal years, choosing a college depends heavily on the amount of financial aid offered and the distribution between scholarships, grants, work-study opportunities, and student loans.
In 2024, however, ongoing issues with the new federal financial aid application have increased the role of aid in college choices. Due to problems with the new form, financial aid award letters were delayed and some high school seniors had difficulty applying for any aid.
More than three-quarters, 76% of students said the amount of financial aid they were awarded and the overall financial aid process were the top drivers in their choice of where to go to college, according to a survey by Ellucian and EMI Research. Solutions carried out in March.
This goes beyond parental influence, location, campus culture and even the degree programs offered.
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“This year, we’re seeing such deep concerns about the cost of college, more so than in the last two years,” said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, which recently ranks colleges based on financial aid awarded. “There is a level of stress that is palpable.”
Higher education already costs more than most families can afford, and college costs continue to rise. Tuition and fees, plus room and board, for a four-year private college averaged $56,190 in the 2023-2024 school year. at the state’s four-year public colleges, it was $24,030 per year; according to the College Board.
Experts predicted that the problems with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid it would weigh heavily on enrollment, though it was initially unclear how much of a role it would play in decisions between schools.
Ellucian’s study found that 44% of 1,500 students surveyed said they would change their top-choice school if offered just $5,000 more in aid.
“It’s a surprisingly small amount when you look at the total cost,” Ellucian CEO Laura Ipsen said of the difference the monetary amounts make in the decision-making process.
The impact of the FAFSA on decision making
“It wasn’t just about the financial aid piece, which is huge, but it was comparing different offers that come at different times,” said Eric Greenberg, president of Greenberg Educational Group, a New York-based consulting firm. “It had a big impact on how people made decisions.”
The past years, financial aid award letters they were sent around the same time as admissions letters, meaning students had several weeks to compare offers before National College Decision Day, the deadline for most admitted students to decide on a college.
Because of extensive delays this year, some students will not receive their final financial aid letter until late August, the U.S. Department of Education said in a recent update.
That could mean some students will start their fall semester before they get basic information about how much it will cost. It also marks “the first admission” by the Department of Education that the FAFSA won’t be fully functional until after the 2024-25 award year begins, which began July 1, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
“Timing is so critical when students are making decisions,” said Ellucian’s Ipsen.
“The sooner you can get an offer in the hands of students, the more likely they are to accept it,” he said. And it’s not just about whether they get into their top-choice school, he added, but whether they go to college at all.
FAFSA is still a hurdle
From June 21, only 45% of new high school graduates have completed the FAFSA, according to the National College Attainment Network, or NCAN. A year ago, that number was 52%.
Filing a FAFSA is one of the best predictors of whether a high school senior will attend college, NCAN also found. Seniors who fill out the FAFSA are 84% more likely enroll in college right out of high school, according to an NCAN study of 2013 data.
The FAFSA serves as a gateway to all federal aid money, including loans, work-study and grants, the latter of which is the most desirable type of aid because it usually doesn’t have to be paid back.
Greenberg advises the students he works with to explore other sources of merit-based aid as much as possible.
“A lot of people assume that only the most elite students will get merit money; that’s not necessarily true at all,” he said. “We have students going to private colleges much more cheaply than they would to state colleges.”
