Decision time nears for college-bound students though many still seek financial aid info

It's crunch time for local college-bound students and their families, as they have just a couple of weeks to choose their college for the 2024-25 school year.

Students typically have months to commit to a school, once they have been accepted and have received financial aid packages that tell them exactly how much they must pay. But this has not been a typical year.

Delays in the U.S. Department of Education's updated Free Applications for Federal Student Aid program meant that colleges didn't receive students' financial information until late March or early April. Without that data, the schools could not tell students how much financial aid they could receive.

"We usually start that process with students and their families in January," said A.J. Teets, Gannon University's director of financial aid. "We couldn't do that this year."

Many colleges have extended their admission deadlines to May 15, while others have pushed it back to June 1.

But that still doesn't leave students' with much time to decide, especially since some colleges have yet to send students their financial aid packages.

"We have loaded all the FAFSA information into our system and are completing our testing and verification," Andrea Konkol, director of enrollment management at Penn State Behrend, said April 24. "We expect financial aid packages to be in the hands of students next week."

The delay has spurred some students to commit to a particular school, or even two or three of them, before knowing how much financial aid they could receive. This enables the student to select housing and choose their fall class schedule.

But committing to a school often means making a nonrefundable deposit of up to several hundred dollars.

"We have about 70% of our first-year class already committed," Konkol said. "We are still seeing students commit without having a financial aid package in hand."

Committing without knowing how much you will pay isn't recommended, especially if the student is considering several different colleges.

Though Penn State's commitment deadline is May 15, Behrend will make housing available for students who commit after the deadline, Konkol said.

"The May 15 date is more firm if the student is attending (Penn State's) University Park campus," Konkol said.

Gannon said it is about 50 to 60 commitment deposits below a typical year, which Teets said isn't bad considering the FAFSA delays.

Gannon's deposits are refundable until June 1.

"If you make your deposit, you can select housing and get your invitation to summer orientation," Teets said.

Even though Gannon has sent out many of its financial aid packages, Teets isn't hearing from some students because they are waiting for the other top choices to send their packages before committing.

Another issue is that relatively few high school seniors have filled out the FAFSA forms, about 30% fewer than last year, Konkol said.

The form must be completed to be eligible for federal and state aid, including grants and loans.

"We have been reaching out to high school counselors in the area, encouraging them to help their students compete the FAFSA," Konkol said. "They need to complete it if they are planning to attend college."

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This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie colleges say FAFSA delays still affecting potential students