As FAFSA Delays Continue, Ursinus Makes Gift Aid Promise

Delays in the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) have complicated the college decision-making process for many prospective students and families across the country. As colleges and universities won’t receive FAFSA data until March—some five months later than usual—Ursinus College is offering families much-needed clarity on their financial aid packages.

Ursinus is guaranteeing its institutional gift aid to admitted students who submit the Student Aid Index (SAI) to the college. Colleges use SAI to determine how much need-based federal, state, and institutional aid students are eligible to receive if they decide to attend the school.

“Choosing a college is always a time filled with anxiety and excitement for students and their families. In times of uncertainty such as this, I believe it is incumbent upon us to do all we can to foster their success,” Ursinus President Robyn Hannigan said. “Today, this means eliminating at least one barrier for as they make one of the most important personal and financial decisions in their lives.”

New federal mandates prompted changes to the FAFSA process and, as a result, higher education institutions like Ursinus aren’t getting the financial information required to prepare financial aid offer letters for admitted students in a timely manner. With the May 1 “decision day” looming, the delay has added a considerable amount of stress to families making one of the most important decisions of their lives.

Ursinus student financial services staff will work expeditiously to award institutional aid to students. For more information on financial aid and scholarships at Ursinus, visit the Ursinus website here. For more on FAFSA, watch this video from Associate Director of Student Financial Services Ashling Suppan O’Connor.

“While I am supportive of the intention behind ‘FAFSA simplification,’ the rollout of the new process and the disruption to the admissions and financial aid timeline that has been in place for several years has been not only disheartening, but also likely to negatively impact the most vulnerable college bound students,” Ursinus Vice President for Enrollment Management Michael J. Keaton said. “I hope that by guaranteeing Ursinus’s institutional gift aid awards, we can shift a bit of the power in the decision-making process back into the hands of students and families so that they can make the best well-informed decisions on where students should continue with their formal education next year.”