Schools Are Extending Their Decision Day Deadline After FAFSA Delays

Most acceptance letters have been sent and now it’s time for students to decide where to go. Decision Day has traditionally been May 1st of each year.  It marks the deadline that students have to commit to their schools and communicate their intention to enroll for the following fall semester.  The May 1st date has normally given students several weeks, if not months, to review financial aid packages from schools they’d been accepted to.

This year that day is coming faster than ever due to FAFSA Delays related to the update of the application, where it was completely overhauled at the end of last year, only being released via a soft launch just a few days before New Years.  The late start and some additional fine tuning since it’s release has delayed the delivery of financial aid information to schools, which in turn is causing financial aid packages to go out much later than usual, likely the middle to end of March or possibly even later.

For students wanting time to assess their options, taking a moment to consider their financial circumstances, this situation doesn’t leave much time and schools are sensitive to this.  More than 100 schools have extended their decision day deadlines according to a list published by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Schools look to have extended the decision deadline by two weeks to a one month in most cases.

Wondering if your school has extended it’s deadline?  See the list below.  We recommend that if you see your school on this list, that you confirm the updated deadline with the school just to be sure.  You certainly don’t want to miss your deadlines.

This is not an exhaustive list. If you don’t see your school on the list, there’s still hope.  Contact your school, tell them your situation.  Many schools have said they would be “flexible” given the circumstances.