Wisconsin Financial Aid Officers Frustrated Waiting for FAFSA Information

Friday, February 23rd, 2024 -- 10:00 AM

(Margaret Faust, Wisconsin Public Radio) Challenging, frustrating, confusing and unanticipated, that’s how financial aid officers and enrollment directors at colleges across the state are describing the wait for federal financial aid data.

According to Margaret Faust with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin colleges and universities are waiting on information from the U.S. Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

The form, filled out by about 17 million students each year, determines how much financial aid a student is eligible for. It affects scholarships, grants, student loans and work-study opportunities.

The application was revised this year and came out months behind schedule with miscalculations and technical problems that are still being corrected. Schools have been told they won’t receive the first batch of financial information until mid-March, delaying the release of financial aid packages to students.

Jordan Milan, University of Wisconsin-Superior associate vice chancellor of enrollment and marketing, said 86 percent of the school’s students receive some form of financial aid. She said students and staff are “really in limbo” as they wait to distribute need-based scholarships.

“Such a big piece of that decision-making process is the finances and making sure that finances line up. And right now, that piece of the puzzle is missing,” Milan said. The FAFSA was redesigned with the aim of expanding assistance access and streamlining the application.

Financial aid officers at universities in Wisconsin say students are finding the form more user-friendly once they can access it. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the new application could make 610,000 more students from low-income backgrounds eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants.

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