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Early FAFSA process is working, thanks to quick responses from colleges

Early FAFSA process is working, thanks to quick responses from colleges

University Business

Chris Burt
February 15, 2022
Nearly half of college and university administrators are getting financial aid offers into the hands of families and prospective students more quickly, according to a new report released by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
Thanks to early Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and prior-prior year (PPY) tax information that went into effect under the Obama Administration, students are able to fill out documents earlier and many are getting responses from institutions sooner, easing frustrations around that part of the painstaking process.
Some 44% of the 427 respondents from a wide cross-section of institutions who were polled by NAFSAA in mid-January said they had shipped offers out before February. Another 16% said they would have them completed and sent by the end of this month.
“The benefits of Early FASFA are coming to fruition,” said NASFAA President and CEO Justin Draeger. “Knowing months sooner what to expect financially also levels the playing field for lower-income students who might otherwise be left scrambling to make decisions on college attendance at the last minute. We still need Congress and the Department of Education to do their part, by completing federal appropriations on time and publishing final federal student aid amounts by November 1.”
Many colleges are expediting eligibility information to students to the channel where they say they look the most frequently—through email on their college’s portal. Those distributions were far and away the highest form of communication at 45%, compared with traditional mailed letters at 31%. Another 13% were sending award confirmations via email attachments. “As lawmakers consider the best way to notify students of their financial aid eligibility, we should remember that most schools are leveraging technology to deliver vital information to students and families,” Draeger said. “Standardizing aid offers must leave enough flexibility for schools to deliver information that will be the most impactful to different student demographics.”
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