BUFFALO, N.Y. — Delays in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, FAFSA, are causing many colleges and universities to delay their deposit deadlines this year.
Just this week, SUNY's Chancellor announced that the deadline will be extended until at least May 15 for in-state students.
The rollout of the new FAFSA form online has been a problem for a lot of families. Now, the state is saying the U.S. Department of Education won't be sending FAFSA information to colleges until sometime in March.
"A mess. I'm hearing a mess, and I'm hearing frustration, and I'm hearing concern," said Supt. Mark Laurrie, Niagara Falls City Schools.
Niagara Falls Superintendent Mark Laurrie says while the FAFSA form has always been difficult to fill out, the rollout of this new form has been a problem.
"They made a good move to shorten it, but the rollout has been disastrous," said Supt. Mark Laurrie.
Since the U.S. Department of Education told the state that colleges won't get FAFSA information about students until next month, SUNY asked campuses to extend the deposit deadline for the fall semester until at least May 15 for in-state students.
"These students and these prospective students absolutely need the help that they can get, need the time, need the information," said Lane Filler, SUNY's Chief Communications Officer.
Before the issues with the new form started, SUNY launched a FAFSA Completion Corps.
"Which is a group of students, college students, from seven campuses who, it's funded by an AmeriCorps grant, and they are helping people fill out the FAFSA better and faster," said Lane Filler.
Laurrie says not having a complete picture of what your financial aid package looks like this late can end up impacting some scholarships, and he's concerned some students might think filling out the form isn't worth it.
"In an immediate gratification world that our kids are living in, some kids will just say I'm not going to do it, and that's sad, too," said Supt. Mark Laurrie.
To help make it easier for students to get the forms done, SUNY is pushing for a new rule to have every high school graduate fill it out, or opt-out.
"You could fill out a waiver that says, no thank you, I'm not interested in any free money please give me my high school diploma if you so choose, but there are states that have done this and they have seen FAFSA completion go way, way up. They have seen students getting a lot more aid. They have seen students who might not have otherwise gone to college go," said Lane Filler.
According to SUNY, in New York State it's estimated that because people aren't completing the FAFSA, they're leaving about $200-million a year in potential federal aid on the table.
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