‘This is make or break’ — students are still waiting on financial aid days ahead of National College Decision Day

Few
college
admission
cycles
have
been as
hard
on
students
as
this
one.

National
College
Decision
Day
—
the
deadline
most
schools
set
to
decide
on
a
college
—
is
just
two
weeks
away.
But
many
college
hopefuls
are
still
unsure
of
where
they
stand
financially,
as

problems persist
with
the
new Free
Application
for
Federal
Student
Aid.

“This
is
make
or
break
for
students,”
said
Ellie Bruecker,
interim
director
of
research
at the
Institute
for
College
Access
and
Success. “We
are
really
concerned
about
high
school
seniors
having
to
make
decisions
about
where
to
go
to
college
—
or
whether
to
go
to
college
—
with
such
limited
information.”

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In
ordinary
years, financial
aid
award
letters are
sent
around
the
same
time
as
offers
of
admission
in
early
spring,
giving
students
a
month
or
more
to
make
informed
enrollment
decisions
ahead
of National
College
Decision
Day
on
May
1.

For
most
students
and
their
families,
the
college
they
choose
hinges
on
the
amount
of
financial
aid
offered
and
the
breakdown
between
grants,
scholarships,
work-study
opportunities
and student
loans.

However,
this
year,
those
award
letters
have
been
significantly
delayed,
as
the
Department
of
Education
works
to
resolve
ongoing
issues
with
the
new
form.
Even
some
applications
submitted
early
now
have
to
be

reprocessed
due
to
problems
with
applicants’ tax
data. 

To
that
end,
many
colleges
and
universities
have
postponed
their
enrollment
commitment
deadlines to
May
15
or
later,
according
to
the
National
Association
for
College
Admission
Counseling.

Amherst
College,
Purdue
University
and
Pepperdine
University
are
among
the
colleges
and
universities
with
a
May
15
decision
deadline
this
year.

“It’s
my
hope
that,
given
a
response
date
of
May
15,
students
will
be
able
to
make
informed
decisions
about
where
they
will
enroll,”
Matthew
McGann,
Amherst’s dean
of
admission
and
financial
aid,
said
in
a
statement. “It
is
also
my
hope
that
this
extension
will
relieve
a
little
bit
of
stress
students
are
feeling
as
they
head
into
the
final
stages
of
this
year’s
college
admission
process.” 

Some
schools
are
also
factoring
in
added
flexibility.
At
Widener
University
in
Chester,
Pennsylvania,
for
example,
students
who
confirm
their
enrollments
by
May
15
will
have
a
period
to
reconsider
once
they
receive
their
financial
aid
offer,
allowing
for
a
full
refund
of
their
deposit.

Other
colleges,
including
Colorado
State,
Oklahoma
State
and
Fairleigh
Dickinson
University
in
New
Jersey, are
pushing
the
deadline
back
to
June
1.

“We
are
really
just
trying
to
encourage
our
campuses
to
be
as
flexible
as
possible,”
said
Charles
Welch,
president
and
CEO
of
the
American
Association
of
State
Colleges
and
Universities. “Our
No.
1
concern
is
making
sure
we
give
students
every
opportunity
they
can
to
make
determinations
about
financial
eligibility.”

A
few
institutions,
like
Fisher
College
in
Boston,
even
delayed
deadlines
into
July.

But
all
eight
private
colleges
that
comprise
the Ivy
League are
sticking
with
May
1.

Most
elite
institutions
are
likely “not
as
worried
about
their
enrollment
management,”
said
Bruecker
of
the
Institute
for
College
Access
and
Success.

“I
would
wager
those
institutions
have
fewer
students
with
financial
need
or
they
can
offer
institutional
aid,”
she
said.

The
National
Association
for
College
Admission
Counseling
created
a
directory
of
where
most

enrollment
deadlines
stand
now.

Here
is
the
list.