Typically, the FAFSA was not available for filing until January and was based on the prior years tax information; this shift allows filing four months earlier and using the tax data from two years ago. For example, a current high school senior planning to enroll in college in fall 2016 would be able to file FAFSA in October using taxes from 2014. This means that the high school class of 2017 will be the first high school cohort to use the PPY FAFSA, along with all returning college students in that same year.
The SFAC is working through the implications of this much earlier filing date to set expectations surrounding this change for our new and continuing students and how it will impact the timing of financial aid packages. Here are some of the items presently under discussion:
- Communications to students (what do we tell them and when)
- direct emails
- portal
- Talking points in setting expectations, especially since applying four months earlier does not translate into awarding four months earlier
- What will this mean for high school financial aid nights?
- How does this translate to what Admissions tells students?
- Begin new aid year set-up and processes earlier
- request missing documentation
- Communicate frequently with Admissions
- applications deadlines
- scholarship decisions
- Awareness of
- Federal Pell grant schedules
- Minnesota State grant awarding cycle
- University of Minnesota cycle on setting tuition
- Oracle delivers critical Financial Aid fixes only at certain times and those fixes are crucial to awarding aid
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