After all the delays, if you were able to submit your FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education has begun to send your information to the schools on your school list. Now your school can begin processing your information and determining your eligibility for financial aid.
What is an institutional student information record, ISIR?
After you send in your FAFSA application, the details you provided are sent to your school in an electronic file called an Institutional Student Information Record, or ISIR for short. As a student, you'll get a FAFSA Submission Summary that includes similar info, but with one key difference. You won't be able to view the federal tax details transferred from the IRS on your FAFSA Submission Summary. Now back to the school's process. They'll use your ISIR info to start working on your financial aid offer. Your school will check for any additional steps needed to process your FAFSA. This could involve things like FAFSA Verification, incomplete submissions, or missing signatures, among others. If they require anything from you, they'll get in touch.
Schools Expectation versus the Reality of the 2024-2025 FAFSA Process
Schools have faced similar delays and processing issues as students. When a FAFSA is submitted online, it's usually processed by the U.S. Department of Education within three days, and the ISIR is then sent to the school. The 2024-2025 FAFSA cycle has introduced some unexpected challenges to the usual process.
Schools have been preparing to receive ISIRs and begin packaging the financial aid. The U.S. Department of Education started to send FAFSA information in March, however, several schools have noted that they have received far less than they expected, and some schools are struggling to receive ISIRs. Some schools expected to receive thousands of ISIRs. The reality, the first batch isn’t the amount the expected. While one school reported receiving only three ISIRs in their first batch, other schools noted that they only received 2,000 of their expected 5,000. And the ISIRs aren’t as easy to process as they would have expected. They have been riddled with issues. The U.S. Department of Education published a list of known issues. Some of these issues have been fixed, other issues do not have a fix, and others require workarounds which involve school research or recalculations. It may take several weeks for schools to work through the ISIR issues.
There are some schools that are struggling, or struggled to ensure they could receive ISIRs. When the U.S. Department of Education processes a FAFSA, they securely send it electronically each school listed on the student’s FAFSA. Each school participating in federal student aid has very specific instructions to set up their required accounts and mailboxes for the transmission of this information. This process has become a headache for many financial aid offices. They have been unable to set up their accounts appropriately and have been dealing with long wait times to resolve their issues with the U.S. Department of Education. (Sound familiar for any students having issues with their FSA ID?)
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid provided an updated timeline. The timeline is cutting it really close for financial aid offices and that will impact students. By the end of March, the backlog of FAFSA applications should be processed. Then schools will work through their required processing. That means, students will begin to receive their financial aid offers sometime in April.
Effects of Delayed Processing of FAFSA Information
Here are a few ways in which the FAFSA processing delays may affect you.
- Limited time to work through financial aid issues. If your FAFSA cannot be processed, or requires a correction, you want to address that as soon as possible. You won’t know your final numbers until the issues are fixed and addressed. Be vigilant in reviewing email or school portal messages to ensure you complete the necessary steps.
- Tight timeline to request a financial aid appeal or negotiate your financial aid. If you were hoping to negotiate or appeal your financial aid offered by your school, you are working on a tight timeline. If you are applying to multiple schools and you’re trying to work out the best deal with your dream school, you could risk missing a decision deadline for a safety school. Financial aid offices may be working overtime, so it’s important to review their website about the best way to contact them to discuss your financial aid offer.
- Completing FAFSA Verification. Financial aid offices will be working through all the issues regarding the FAFSA delays. If you have been selected for FAFSA Verification or your school requests that you resolve conflicting information, it’s best to begin the process as soon as you receive notification. If you are selected for FAFSA Verification, you will be required to complete the process before you can receive financial aid.
- Choosing a School. Many first-year college students find themselves overwhelmed when deciding on a college. The current delays in the FAFSA process only add to this pressure. Typically, students would receive financial aid offers around the same time as acceptance letters, allowing ample time for discussions with their families. However, the situation becomes more stressful for some students who have deadlines for outside grants and scholarships that hinge on approved coursework or programs. These delays are impacting their college decisions, and without choosing a college they will not be able to provide the necessary information to their grant or scholarship provider.
- Unable to gauge their financial aid offers. There are several online calculators and tools that can provide a student with an estimate of their financial aid offer. While a ballpark figure is helpful, it’s not enough information for families. These tools typically can’t accurately account for institutional grants and scholarships. According to a 2022 NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study, first-year, full time students attending private and nonprofit colleges on average received a tuition discount of 56.2%.
Next Step for Students
In the upcoming weeks, it's crucial to stay diligent. Be sure to check your emails from the U.S. Department of Education and your school. The U.S. Department of Education will send you the FAFSA Submission Summary and your student aid index, SAI. Review the FAFSA Submission Summary carefully to verify the accuracy of the information. If any corrections are necessary, you may need to log back into your FAFSA account to make them. Should you encounter an issue that you can't resolve, you have two options: contact the U.S. Department of Education or your school for guidance on resolving the matter. The U.S. Department of Education has announced that students will have the opportunity to make corrections in the first half of April.
You should not be alarmed if you can’t see income information your FAFSA if it was transferred from the IRS. This information is masked; however, the owner of the information can request a disclosure of their information from the U.S. Department of Education. For example, if your parent would like to see the information provided, they will need to request a disclosure of their information from the U.S. Department of Education, you cannot do it on their behalf.
Review Your SAI
Your next step as a student will be to review your SAI. Your SAI replaced the former expected family contribution, EFC. Your SAI is an index number, which can be as low as -1500, used by your school to determine your eligibility for financial aid. They use this number to compare your financial situation with that of your peers.
Your SAI is not the amount you are required to pay. If you have a negative SAI of -1500, an SAI of 2000, or an SAI of 124586, that is not the amount you will pay. If your SAI is 2000, you may owe your school more than $2,000 after your financial aid is applied to your school’s bill.
If you, or any of your FAFSA Contributors had a change in their financial situation since 2020, it’s best to discuss that situation with your financial aid office. Here is an example of a change in financial situation. If your mom provided her financial information on your FAFSA based on her 2020 taxes, and she has since lost her job, you may be eligible for a financial aid appeal. The results of your financial aid appeal will be determined by your school.
Be Diligent
There is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the 2024-2025 FAFSA issues. The U.S. Department of Education, Congress, and all involved organizations must diligently work to restore their reputation and regain the trust of the students and families they support. As a student, this is the situation you face, and it is wise to direct your focus towards your future. Utilize this waiting time to address actionable steps within your control.
If you plan to appeal your financial aid award, due to known change in financial situation, get your documents together now, and review your school(s) process to submit a financial aid appeal. Many schools have an appeal process listed on their website. If you have a question for your school, make sure you review their website to determine their preferred method of contact.
Craft a budget not just for the current year but for your entire collegiate journey to make well-informed decisions. Keep a close watch on your college application deadlines and ensure timely responses to any questions from your school or financial aid office.
Remember to keep an eye on your emails and your school messaging portal. Read your correspondence and make it a priority to respond to any questions from your school or financial aid office.