Nobody ever said applying for college financial aid would be fun.
But starting Saturday, millions of Americans can at least get a head start on that tedious but crucial chore — and in doing so, possibly give themselves more time to evaluate aid offers and determine the campus they can best afford.
That’s because under a new rule, high school seniors, their families and others applying to college can begin filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly called FAFSA, on Oct. 1 — three months ahead of the traditional Jan. 1 date.
The form is used to calculate the expected amount a student and family can contribute to college and is the first step in determining a student’s need.
The idea behind the earlier date, approved by the Obama administration last November, is that the sooner forms are submitted, the earlier colleges can get award offers into the hands of students who are on the verge of a huge life decision.
The earlier date also means that instead of estimating their income for the current tax year — as the Jan. 1 deadline required — families can use income tax data from the prior tax year, in this case 2015.
That reduces the need to make revisions to income information and therefore should offer students a more dependable idea through the application process of what kind of aid package they can expect, financial aid officials say.
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and other groups have been spreading the word about the change and how it could make the senior-year scramble to figure out aid a bit less intense.
“We’re hopeful that receiving information about student financial aid earlier will help families make better financial decisions and avoid unnecessary debt,” said association president and CEO Justin Draeger.
Aid administrators say it is important for families to file a FAFSA form as soon after Oct. 1 as possible and to be aware of individual school deadlines, so as to maximize a student’s potential for getting the aid that is available.
The U.S. Department of Education has asked colleges to give prospective students — in particular those from low-income households — award packages as soon as possible. It also has asked those schools to refrain from certain changes of their own that would negate the extra time families are getting.
“I ask you not to move any priority financial aid deadlines earlier than your deadlines for recent years,” Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell wrote college presidents last month.
The University of Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania’s largest campus, is among the schools complying with the department’s request.
Aid administrators at Pitt have beefed up financial aid marketing and FAFSA completion promotions in support of the federal changes, said Marc Harding, chief enrollment officer.
He said Pitt’s priority filing deadline for the FAFSA will remain March 1.
“We anticipate sending financial aid packages to new students the first week of February,” he said. “This is earlier than in past years when we’ve historically sent financial aid packages toward the end of March.”
May 1 remains the national candidate reply date, he added.
Officials at Carnegie Mellon University also said they will keep their deadlines steady for the upcoming year and are encouraging students to start the application process sooner.
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency offers information that can be found by going to the agency’s web site — www.pheaa.org —and entering FAFSA in the search box. The top result is a page with contents that include a list of dozens of completion help events in Western Pennsylvania, the first of which is 10 a.m. to noon Saturday on the North campus of Community College of Allegheny County, Room 1140.
The FAFSA changes this year mean that in some cases, “families could receive award letters as early as November, but this is highly dependent on each school,” PHEAA spokesman Keith New said.
He said once a FAFSA is submitted, the U.S. Department of Education prepares a Student Aid Report that schools use to prepare award letters. Schools that families list on the FAFSA form have access electronically to those reports, and the Department of Education recommends that families check their copy for accuracy upon receiving it.
The total number of FAFSA forms filed nationally varies but in some years exceeds 20 million, according to the Department of Education.
PHEAA says some 600,000 forms are filed by those in this state.
Officials say that perhaps the biggest gaffe a family can make is not filling out a FAFSA. Not only is it a requirement for federal, state and college aid, but many private scholarships also require it, officials said.
Bill Schackner: bschackner@post-gazette.com.
First Published: September 30, 2016, 4:03 a.m.
Updated: September 30, 2016, 4:16 a.m.
