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

Published

2 years ago

February 1, 2024

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
Advertisement

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.”

Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Click to comment

Finance

Goldman Sachs Sets $1 Trillion M&A Record

Published

6 hours ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

Breaking a six-month record, the investment banking giant capitalizes on a surging wave of global megadeals.

Goldman Sachs said it had advised on more than $1 trillion of announced global mergers and acquisitions so far this year, the fastest any investment bank has reached that milestone in a six-month period, citing data from capital markets data provider Dealogic.

The bank attributed the milestone to a string of marquee mandates, including serving as co-financial adviser to Dominion Energy on its roughly $67 billion sale to rival utility NextEra Energy, announced last month, along with other major transactions.

Rise of the Megadeal

Goldman reported that its investment banking fees rose 48%, to $2.8 billion in the first quarter. It’s a reflection of the “K-shaped” M&A market, where megadeals are the dominant force, but deal volumes are declining, and mid-market activity is subdued.

Data compiled by PwC revealed that the global M&A market is on track to reach $4 trillion in 2026, a 13% annual increase, with major sales estimated to account for 48% of deal value worldwide, a significant expansion from two years ago.

“Goldman has been the global leader in M&A advisory fees for more than 90 consecutive quarters. The fact that it’s reaping benefits from a moment of megadeal activity simply proves the strength of its franchise,” said Mark Narron, senior director at Fitch Ratings. “However, advisory revenues are generally a small share of total revenues. In 2021, which was Goldman’s record year for advisory, advisory revenues contributed only 10% of total revenues.”

Fitch says it’s difficult to forecast whether Goldman’s advisory revenues will continue to climb, given the cyclical nature of advisory fees and uneven regional M&A trends — with most deal activity still concentrated in the U.S.

Fitch expects M&A activity to be sensitive to market conditions, economic growth, geopolitical events, and interest rates. Global growth is estimated to decelerate to 2.8% this year, according to the latest OECD economic outlook report. Inflationary pressures are rising in advanced and emerging economies due to energy shocks from the Iran conflict. Prices in the G20 economies are expected to climb to 4% in 2026. In a “prolonged disruption” scenario, inflation could rise further, which may prompt hawkish interest rate responses from central banks.

Peter Taberner is a contributing writer based in the U.K.

Finance

Rodriguez fires campaign manager over finance filing issues – Civic Media

Published

18 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Press Room

Rodriguez fires campaign manager over finance filing issues – Civic Media

MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) – Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a Democratic candidate for governor, fired her campaign manager Sunday after discovering problems with campaign finance filings, her campaign said.

The campaign said the person was terminated effective immediately following an internal review that found “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies” in reports they prepared. Staff identified the issues late last week and alerted Rodriguez, who then moved to secure campaign accounts and remove the staffer.

The campaign said it plans to contact the Wisconsin Ethics Commission on Monday to correct the filings ahead of a key reporting deadline Wednesday.

Full statement below.

“The Sara Rodriguez for Wisconsin campaign has terminated its campaign manager, effective today, after discovering serious mismanagement and inaccuracies in campaign finance filings she prepared. An initial review found that the manager filed inaccurate and incomplete campaign finance reports. The campaign will be in contact with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission first thing Monday morning to ensure the inaccuracies are corrected. The moment Sara learned of these inaccuracies, she acted swiftly and decisively removed her. The campaign will continue to build support to win in August and beat Tom Tiffany in November.”

Finance

Wedding budget: How to decide what to spend on your big day

Published

1 day ago

July 13, 2026

Press Room

Wedding budget: How to decide what to spend on your big day

Weddings, and the amount they cost, can run the gamut from a small, DIY ceremony in the backyard to a massive bash that shuts down Madison Square Garden. Obviously, the latter may only be within reach for certain pop stars and their football-playing partners, but that still leaves a wide range for how much you and your soon-to-be spouse could potentially spend.

When making the determination, it is important to weigh two things: making your big day a special one and honoring your financial reality. Your wedding may mark the start of your next chapter, but your finances are what will largely shape your future as a married couple.

As a benchmark, the average wedding costs $34,200, said wedding planning website The Knot, based on findings from its 2026 Real Weddings Study. You can expect the bulk of that to go toward your venue and any necessary rentals, such as tableware and tables themselves, as well as catering and drinks. But there a myriad of other small costs that can quickly add up: cake, photographer, flowers and decor, music, outfits, rings, wedding planner.