Adrian JohnsonTLDR:
– The Department of Education has fixed a problem with outdated inflation figures in the new FAFSA, which may affect the timing of financial aid offers.
– The new Free Application for Federal Student Aid formula will be updated, causing colleges to receive FAFSA applicant information in early March instead of late January.
– The delay in financial aid letters is the latest complication in the rollout of the new FAFSA.
– The new FAFSA has been plagued with problems since its soft launch in December 30.
– The new FAFSA’s affordability calculation, called the “Student Aid Index,” initially relied on old consumer price index figures from 2020, but will now be updated to reflect the recent run-up in inflation.
– The update to the FAFSA formula will result in an additional $1.8 billion in aid for college-bound students this year.
– It is unclear whether updating the figures will cause further delays.
– Batches of FAFSA information will be sent to schools in the first half of March, causing colleges to scramble to issue aid offers as soon as possible.
– Schools are waiting on the FAFSA information to begin building financial aid packages and to give students and families time to review and compare financial aid offers.
