U. decision day postponed due to mishaps in FAFSA processing

Decision day for prospective Rutgers students will be pushed back a month due to delays in the financial aid application process, according to an article from NorthJersey.com.

In a "Dear Colleague" letter issued last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act.

The Act was expected to increase eligibility for Pell Grants, redefine family sizes eligibility, remove questions about Selective Service and former substance use convictions, collect demographic information and expedite the application process.

Instead, last-minute modifications to the application, intended to adjust for inflation, resulted in a month-long delay for submission deadlines, from February to March. This timeframe regularly correlates with a student's financial aid letter posting, according to an article from NJ Advance Media.

"On the very day that schools were expecting FAFSA applicant information, they were instead notified by the U.S. Department of Education that they shouldn't expect to receive that data until March, at the earliest," Justin Draeger, the president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said in the article.

The delay in collecting the relevant information created a domino effect, postponing when the University expected to provide students with their financial aid package, according to a University resource.

"We recognize that students are anxious to receive their financial aid packages," the resource read. "Your patience and understanding is appreciated as packages are prepared."

Since these packages are now scheduled to be released by the end of April, the deadline for prospective students to commit to the University has shifted from May 1 to June 1.