CHARLOTTE, N.C. — May 1 is National College Decision Day, a deadline for students to commit to a university. This year, however, colleges across North Carolina are pushing back the deadline because of the delayed rollout of a new version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Due to delays and technical glitches, millions of incoming students have waited longer to find out college costs.
Wingate University Vice President for Enrollment Management Eva Baucom said the university receives the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) from FAFSA data, which allows them to provide an estimated financial aid package to a prospective student early on.
“This year has been challenging, for sure. We started receiving ISIRs in April this year as opposed to October in a typical year. We didn’t think families could wait that long to hear an estimated cost, so we found ways to get creative,” Baucom said.
While they waited on the ISIRs, the university sent a cost estimate using student information, which included potential financial aid.
“This has made things more challenging all around, especially for our prospective students and their families. This is a huge decision they are making without understanding fully all of the factors — puts them in a really tough spot,” Baucom said.
For Baucom, the delay has also made it harder for enrollment projections.
“Projections matter so much to what we do institutionally, whether that’s how many sections of a course we are going to have. How many residence halls,” Baucom said.
Once Wingate received the ISIRs in April, the university sent the prospective students the updated cost. In addition, they pushed their deposit refund deadline from May 1 to June 1.
“Even if they’ve heard the cost from us, we know they want to compare that to other institutions, as they should. For us, we just thought it was the right thing to do,” Baucom said.
Several colleges in the UNC System, including UNC Charlotte have pushed their deposit enrollment deadlines back to May 15.
Baucom’s biggest worry is families discount college altogether because of FAFSA delays.
The overhaul of FAFSA, which is a mandate from Congress, is meant to simplify the form and increase the number of low-income students eligible for student aid.