Finance
FAFSA delays likely to slow college decisions. 'It's a real mess,' expert says. Here's what to do if your financial aid letter is late
What the FAFSA delays mean to you
In ordinary years, financial aid award letters are sent around the same time as admission letters so students have several weeks to compare offers ahead of National College Decision Day on May 1, which is the deadline many schools set for admitted students to decide on a college.
For most students and their families, which college they will choose hinges on the amount of financial aid offered and the breakdown between grants, scholarships, work-study opportunities and student loans.
This year, schools are now waiting on that FAFSA information to begin building financial aid packages and to give students and families enough time to weigh their options.
It is a real mess.
Mark Kantrowitz
higher education expert
“It is a real mess,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. “The delay in sending FAFSA data to colleges will cause college financial aid offers to be delayed until at least April, maybe even May.”
Some colleges have already emailed applicants to reassure them that every admitted student will still receive their financial aid package on time — even if that means sending out award letters before the college receives any FAFSA information.
“Making an offer of admission without offering a full financial aid offer really isn’t useful for most families,” said Adam Miller, vice president for admission and financial aid at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.
To do this, Whitman and other colleges would need to leverage the information families provided in their completed CSS Profile. Currently, about 400 schools use the CSS profile in addition to the FAFSA to award nonfederal institutional aid.
While FAFSA information will ultimately determine whether a student’s financial aid offer includes federal or state grants as opposed to scholarships, Miller said the expected out-of-pocket contribution for families will not be changed.
“We feel really confident in our financial aid offers, and we’re fortunate to be in a position to stand by those offers regardless of what federal or state funding may come through once we have the FAFSA.”
What students and families can do now
For now, families should continue to complete their 2024-25 FAFSA forms, advised Rick Castellano, a spokesperson for Sallie Mae. And, in the meantime, tap alternative sources for merit-based aid, he added.
Check with the college, or ask your high school counselor about opportunities. You can also search websites such as Scholarships.com and the College Board.
“The frustration is totally understandable and, frankly, justified,” Castellano said, “but the last thing you want to do is bypass college altogether.”
What delays mean for College Decision Day
There’s also a good chance that colleges and universities will extend their decision deadlines to give students and families more time to assess their financial aid packages.
“Given schools will not begin to receive processed FAFSA data until sometime in March, I would not be surprised if the universal reply date is extended to June 1 or later,” said Kalman Chany, a financial aid consultant and author of The Princeton Review’s “Paying for College.”
Several national organizations, including the American association of community colleges and the American association of state colleges and universities, also issued a statement encouraging schools to give students and families more flexibility as they consider their offers of admission and financial aid.
“During the pandemic, many institutions extended their enrollment, scholarship, and financial aid deadlines beyond the traditional May 1 date, and we urge institutions to make similar accommodations this year,” the groups said in a collective statement. “We all want students and families to have the time they need to consider their financial options before making enrollment decisions.”
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KPMG in the UK worked with CCEP to co-create a comprehensive learning program for senior managers and associate directors in its finance function. We began by developing a strong understanding of the unique business context in which the company and its finance team operate.
This also helped us determine the best mode of delivery for its globally distributed finance function and identify opportunities to stretch CCEP’s ambitions further.
For example, the KPMG team proposed turning the final module of the course into a showcase presentation. Trainees applied what they had learned to real business challenges and presented their solutions to the board in a business pitch-style competition. Although this added to finance leaders’ already demanding workload, it proved to be one of the course’s most successful elements, enabling participants to put their new skills into practice.
Before work on the Academy began, KPMG developed a detailed plan setting out how the two teams would work together, ensure consistency across the learning modules, maintain quality assurance, and manage changes to scope.
KPMG professionals then collaborated closely with CCEP to co-create bespoke learning content, with CCEP’s senior finance leaders acting as subject matter experts alongside our own finance specialists.
Senior officials from the European Union and Hong Kong are in talks to launch a financial services dialogue, with companies from the bloc keen to explore opportunities in the Northern Metropolis, its top representative in the city has said.
Ambassador Harvey Rouse, head of the EU Office in Hong Kong, made the remarks at the Greenway 2026 forum on Tuesday, where he highlighted opportunities for cooperation on sustainable innovation and the green transition.
In a keynote address, Rouse said Hong Kong had established itself as one of Asia’s leading centres for green and sustainable finance, and that, as “two of the world’s leaders” in this field, both sides had an opportunity to deepen cooperation.
“Indeed, this cooperation is already under way,” he said.
“Senior exchanges between Hong Kong and the European Commission have intensified over the past year with visits of EU officials to Hong Kong and vice versa. Both sides are looking at starting soon a financial services dialogue to enhance cooperation.”
Rouse said European firms could also provide investment and expertise to support Hong Kong’s green transition.
“This is particularly relevant as Hong Kong develops the Northern Metropolis,” he said, referring to the city’s 30,000-hectare (74,131-acre) megaproject near the border with mainland China.
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