Incoming Iowa State students will have to wait longer than years prior to receive their financial aid packages. The delay is due to changes in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the form students use to apply for financial aid from the federal government.

FAFSA Simplification Act

A new form was mandated by the FAFSA Simplification Act, which “represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024–25 award year,” according to the Federal Student Aid website.  

The act made significant changes to the FAFSA application process, including a streamlined version of the form. In past years, applicants had to go through more than 100 questions; the updated version includes less than 40. All changes to the application were made in an attempt to make the process easier for incoming and current students. 

“Any confusion or complications you can eliminate from the FAFSA to help students and their families complete the document and determine their eligibility for financial aid is definitely a positive,” said Chad Olson, Iowa State Director of Student Financial Aid.

This academic year, the FAFSA application opened briefly Dec. 30, one day before the legal deadline required for prospective students to have the new and updated application available. Through the week following the brief opening, the website was open for partial days. The application became fully available Jan. 6.

In a statement on Jan. 30, the education department announced to universities that it expects to begin sending out FAFSA information in mid-March. 

In previous years, the FAFSA application opened Oct. 1, and according to Olson, Iowa State had the information by Oct. 15. The Financial Aid Office would then send out financial aid packages to incoming first-year students by the first week of February. Transfer students could usually expect their packages in late March or early April. 

“For students who are trying to still make their college decision, this is obviously a difficult process by getting aid offers to them later than usual,” Olson said. “That’s an unfortunate side effect of the transition of this new FAFSA form for this year. In future years, it should work a lot smoother.”

Filing issues

According to the Central Iowa Student Success Center and Iowa State, some students have run into a few filing issues with the new application. Some students are stuck in a loop when putting in parental information. Students have the option not to include parent information, but when they go to submit the form, it kicks them back to the parent information page, where they have to restart. 

Another section some students are stuck on is the parent invitation page. Students have the option this year to invite parents to assist in filling out the application. However, if a parent already has an account, the student must enter the information needed precisely as it is on the parent’s account. If not, there will be an error message. 

A few students have encountered a problem when there are discrepancies on the parent’s account. 

“One example was on a parent’s ID where they had spelled their name wrong, and so we had to go into their account to change their last name to be correct. That has been one glitch that we can actually usually rectify for a family,” said Erick Danielson, vice president of programs for the Central Iowa Student Success Center. 

There is an issue with families who have students with parents who do not have social security numbers being able to complete the electronic form. 

“We just learned a workaround to be able to get them submitted even though it’s not totally done,” Danielson said. 

The Iowa State Financial Aid Office has been notified of the glitches and issues students are experiencing. For students struggling with any problems, Iowa State has documented those who applied before the priority deadline. 

“We’re going through a lot of what might seem like struggles this year with the process and a lot of delays,” Danielson said. “I think once they work out all the kinks, this is going to be an easier process for families to be better able to complete it in the future, but a lot of patience is going to be needed this year.”

Deadlines

An announcement went out to incoming students Tuesday, informing them the university is changing its cancellation deadline. Typically, students can cancel their admission up until May 1. That date is now being changed to May 20 to allow students more time to review their options.

If a student chooses to cancel their admission, they will receive a partial refund on their admission deposit. 

“Iowa State students can still accept after that date, so it’s not a deadline for accepting their offer of admission, but it is a cancellation deadline,” said Katharine Johnson Suski, assistant vice president for enrollment management. 

The FAFSA priority deadline has been changed from early January to Feb. 29 as a result of the online application being inaccessible until later compared to years prior. 

Scholarships through the OneApp form are delayed, as many applications require FAFSA information. With the FAFSA priority deadline moving to Feb. 29, the OneApp general deadline has been delayed to March 28 for incoming first-year and transfer students. Returning students have until April 11 to submit their OneApp.