For far too many students, the joy of getting into college this year is clouded by the uncertainty of not knowing what it will cost. That’s the result of a crisis in the financial aid system that is the lifeblood of college access for millions of Americans.
We can and must give these students more time to gather financial aid offers, weigh their options and make good decisions.
The root of the trouble is a glitch-plagued revision to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The rocky rollout of the new FAFSA has caused extraordinary delays this year in transmission of essential financial data from the federal government to colleges and universities.
As a result, many college applicants are receiving offers of admission without knowing how much grant aid they would receive if they enroll, along with the size of loans they might need to cover tuition and other bills.
Related: The Fafsa fiasco could roll back years of progress it must be fixed immediately
Meanwhile, the traditional college decision date looms: May 1. That is barely five weeks away. That’s why the American Council on Education and other higher education groups are urging colleges to extend their deadlines.
For the past half century, May 1 has been the consensus make-up-your-mind moment for students admitted to selective colleges and universities. By that date, they must place a deposit to secure their spot in a class.
There are good reasons for a deadline. It focuses the minds of those pondering multiple offers who might keep waffling without a fixed date to force a decision. It accelerates the sifting and sorting that occurs as colleges turn to wait lists to meet enrollment targets.
The deadline enables the start of housing assignments and planning for orientation and other summer programs and helps nudge admitted students to give one more look to colleges that struggle to fill seats.
FAFSA Fiasco
This op-ed is part of a package of opinion pieces The Hechinger Report is running that focus on solutions to the new FAFSA’s troubled rollout.
May 1, in short, is a crucial turning point as colleges wrap up one school year and prepare for another.
But that date is not set in stone. Four years ago, hundreds of colleges eased their enrollment-commitment deadlines in response to the coronavirus pandemic and widespread economic and social upheaval. And in general, May 1 is much less relevant, or not relevant at all, to colleges that have rolling or open admissions.
It is heartening that many selective schools did decide to push back deadlines after the Education Department warned in late January that FAFSA information will arrive well behind schedule. Some data has begun to flow, but the effects of the backlog are continuing and profound.
ACE counts well over 175 deadline extenders, and the total is rising. They include DePaul University, one of the nation’s largest Catholic institutions; North Carolina A&T State University, the nation’s largest historically Black institution; the University of California and California State University systems; the universities of Georgia and Florida; and most members of the Big Ten.
They also include liberal arts schools such as Wesleyan University and Agnes Scott, Amherst, Kalamazoo, Lewis & Clark and Williams colleges.
Approaches vary. Some schools are pushing back to May 15, others to June 1. Some are extending deadlines only for in-state students. Some ask for deposits by May 1 but allow refunds until June 1. All are demonstrating admirable solidarity with students in financial need.
It is not too late for others to join them.
Highlighting the complexity of the situation, many colleges face financial and competitive pressures to meet enrollment targets and cite those reasons for maintaining deadlines. Their arguments cannot be lightly dismissed.
Also, more than 100 well-resourced colleges and universities have developed timely financial aid offers using information from the College Board’s CSS Profile questionnaire. That gives those schools an edge over others that rely only on FAFSA.
But applicants often secure admission to both kinds of schools – those that use CSS Profile and those that don’t. These students might face decision-making quandaries if some financial aid offers arrive much later than others.
Some CSS Profile users, including the University of Virginia, William & Mary and Georgia Tech, have extended deadlines. Most have not.
Those holdouts would have a powerful impact and, quite possibly, could help alleviate the crisis with even modest deadline extensions. Even if schools leave deadlines unchanged, it would be extremely helpful for them to acknowledge the FAFSA crisis and give clear public assurances that they will make exceptions for students who need more time.
Many higher education problems defy simple solutions. To raise graduation rates, for example, or to contain costs and lower student debt, requires sustained effort on many fronts and the will to innovate.
But this crisis is different. Colleges should do their best to give families breathing room to make good choices.
At a time of dwindling public confidence in higher education, pushing back a few deadlines to help students in need is the least we can do. And it just might help restore a bit of that lost confidence.
Nick Anderson is vice president for higher education partnerships and improvement at the American Council on Education. Previously, he covered higher education for The Washington Post.
This op-ed about the FAFSA was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter.