(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A college financial aid expert said Wednesday that families should not worry that the 2024-2025 application process for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is starting later than usual.
FAFSA is the federal form that colleges use to base financial aid offers to students. Usually, the application process starts in October — and it will again next October — but the current process start was delayed until this week due to a new, streamlined form that was developed.
Jerry Cebrzynski, the associate vice president for financial aid at Lake Forest College, said most families should still get financial aid offers by February and March.
“A lot of families don’t make decisions [on which college to attend] until March, April,” he said. “May 1 is still that drop-dead date where they need to make their decision by then.”
Those decisions are often made in the spring because it gives students and families a chance to weigh offers from different schools.
Cebrzynski said students who wanted to make an early decision on a school have another way to find out if they’re getting financial help: They can fill out the College Board’s Financial Aid Profile.
He said Lake Forest College has already sent out financial aid offers to hundreds of students based on those forms.
Even with the late start of the application process, the financial aid expert said families will still get offers for financial aid.
“They’ll get the same amounts. In fact, the formula with the FAFSA has changed a little bit so that more families, more students will be eligible for more dollars out there.”
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram