Admissions officials at three Northeast Ohio colleges say the revised federal financial aid application known as the FAFSA continues to cause chaos.
“When all is said and done, it could mean thousands of Ohio students who would usually attend college decide not to attend this fall,” Scott Schulz, Baldwin Wallace University’s vice president for enrollment management, told Signal Cleveland.
The U.S. Department of Education released a revised version of the form last December. All kinds of challenges and delays accompanied it, including in how long it took for colleges to get students’ and families’ financial information.
That, in turn, slowed down how long it takes for students to get the critical context they need to make a decision, such as financial aid packages outlining how much they’ll pay for classes. It’s put lots of institutions – and students – behind schedule.
National data shows only 42% of 2024 high school graduates have completed the form, a 14% drop from last year. Students in Ohio have submitted about 57,215 FAFSAs. That’s nearly 13% fewer from the same time in 2023.
This new FAFSA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, was supposed to streamline the process for applicants to potentially get money that could help pay for college.
Instead, as officials at three area colleges tell Signal Cleveland, it’s putting some students even further behind.
Kent State behind on aid offers, submitted deposits
Kent State University reports that two key figures have decreased year-over-year.
Officials at Northeast Ohio’s biggest university packaged about 10,000 financial aid offers to new students as of mid-May. That’s about a 19% drop from the same time last year.
Plus, only a little more than 4,000 students have submitted deposits – a 12% decline.
Sean Broghammer, Kent State’s vice president for enrollment management, said the delay in distribution of financial aid award packages is “entirely related” to the FAFSA rollout and the late receipt of FAFSA information from the Department of Education.
“[In] recent years, new student aid awards have been sent beginning in late February and continuing student awards mid-April,” he told Signal Cleveland via email.
Broghammer said current students’ awards wouldn’t begin to go out until the end of May.
Baldwin Wallace moves deposit deadline to June 15
Baldwin Wallace University administrators pushed back the day new students have to send a deposit to hold their place at the school from May 1 to June 15. Even that’s not a hard-and-fast deadline, according to vice president Schulz.
The number of submitted deposits is down, though officials declined to say by how many. Schulz did say BW’s “pretty well caught up” with aid offers. The university has sent out about 2,000 offers to both admitted and current students.
Now, the university continues to focus on other outreach – such as social media posts and text messages – to try to get more students and families to complete the process. Schulz said the university has a universal message to all prospective students, even if BW isn’t their college choice.
“We want to make sure that you’re taking the steps to give yourself options for the fall so you don’t get to August and then think, ‘Wait a minute, what am I doing with my fall and the upcoming school year?’” he said.
Tri-C estimates they’re six months behind
Enrollment and deadlines are different at two-year public institutions such as Cuyahoga Community College. There are no deposit and/or decision deadlines, though there is a payment due in July.
Most students at community colleges rely on some type of financial aid to pay for their schooling. Students of color rely on that at higher rates, too, making FAFSA completions even more important.
Tri-C officials said they’ve received about a third as many completed FAFSAs as they did at this time last year.
Officials told Signal Cleveland the delays have put them about six months behind in their process. As of late May, no financial aid awards had been sent out for the fall semester.
