- ORIGINAL NEWS
‘This is make or break’ — students are still waiting on financial aid days ahead of National College Decision Day
- SUMMARY
The college application process has been particularly challenging this year due to delays in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
As a result, many universities have extended their enrollment commitment deadlines to accommodate students who are still waiting for financial aid award letters.
National College Decision Day, the deadline to decide on a college, is typically May 1st.
However, this year, numerous colleges and universities have postponed their deadlines to May 15th or later.
These include Amherst College, Purdue University, Pepperdine University, Widener University, Colorado State, Oklahoma State, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and even Fisher College, which has extended its deadline into July.
Ivy League institutions, such as Harvard and Yale, are among the few exceptions that are maintaining their May 1st deadline.
These elite schools may have fewer financially needy students or have the capacity to provide more institutional aid.
Delays in financial aid award letters can significantly impact students’ college choices.
Many may have to make decisions without a complete understanding of their financial situation.
This could lead to students choosing colleges they cannot afford or declining offers from schools they would prefer to attend due to financial constraints.
To address this issue, some colleges are allowing students to confirm their enrollment by May 15th and then reconsider their decision once they receive their financial aid offer.
This allows students to secure a spot at their desired college while retaining the option to withdraw if they cannot afford it.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling has compiled a directory of enrollment deadlines for colleges and universities.
Students can refer to this directory to determine the deadline for the institutions they are considering.
- NEWS SENTIMENT CHECK
- Overall sentiment:
neutral
Positive
“Even some applications submitted early now have to be reprocessed due to problems with applicants’ tax data. To that end, many colleges and universities have postponed their enrollment commitment deadlines to May 15 or later, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling.”
Negative
“Few college admission cycles have been as hard on students as this one.”
“National College Decision Day — the deadline most schools set to decide on a college — is just two weeks away. But many college hopefuls are still unsure of where they stand financially, as problems persist with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid.”