The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) won’t open until much later than the typical Oct. 1 application date. Now students won’t find out whether or not they qualify for financial aid until sometime in December. Whether that be Dec. 1, Dec. 31 or anytime in between depends on how quickly simplification changes can be made within the application. The main reason for this years’ delay is due to the recent FAFSA Simplification Act. 

“They haven’t been specific at all, which is a problem because seniors are uncertain what to do and when to do it,” college and career counselor Cody Dailey said. 

The FAFSA is a federal form that high school seniors must complete in order to be in consideration for financial aid from colleges, states, and the federal government. The Simplification Act will include decreasing the number of questions from 108 to 40. While these changes should make filling out the application easier to comprehend and a much quicker process, they also create a large concern within seniors and college advisors. The process will most likely feel rushed for many students, but hopefully not confusing, Dailey said. 

“There are a lot of changes being made, some positive and some negative,” Dailey said. “In the past there used to be specific questions related to how many people in a single family were enrolled in college. Small factors like that make a big difference in trying to decide which students qualify for financial aid. One thing that seniors can do right now is begin to create a FSA ID and an account to go along with it, as well as calculating the net price of colleges that are contenders in your college search.” 

The past Oct. 1 deadline gave students at least three to four months to fill out their application, while the revised December date will leave students with just six weeks, in which two of those six weeks fall over winter break. This will leave students who typically reach out for advice from their counselor or advisor, with no way to receive guidance through the process. 

“The worst part is the uncertainty,” said Sammy Finder ‘24. “Nobody seems to be sure when we will actually find out [if we qualify], the best they can do is tell us it will be sometime in the month of December.”