Georgian Court University has extended the deposit deadline to June 1 in response to the U.S. Department of Education announcement concerning delayed data availability from the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Universities need FAFSA data to create individualized financial aid packages for students that outline how much aid they will receive and, ultimately, how much they will have to pay to attend a particular university.
“This situation has been extremely challenging for everyone—prospective students, their parents and the University,” said Georgian Court University President Dr. Joseph R. Marbach. “By extending our deposit deadline from May 1 to June 1, we hope to ease some of these frustrations by providing more time and extra breathing room to make an informed decision on their college choice,” he explained.
In addition, merit-based scholarships awarded to newly accepted students will not be impacted or changed by this delay.
“Historically, GCU has been committed to providing an accessible and affordable option for students to pursue higher education. The FAFSA delay will not alter our mission, and students who want to attend GCU have plenty of options to apply and receive the support they need to become part of our community,” said President Marbach.
Despite the FAFSA issue, enrollment at Georgian Court looks strong: deposits are nearly identical to this time last year.
Traditionally, May 1 has been known as the college commitment deadline. The data delay means that students may not be able to receive any financial aid offers until April.
FAFSA data was expected to be provided to universities at the end of January, but that date has now been extended to March. Many state aid programs and scholarships are awarded based on FAFSA data provided by students and their families.
The Department of Education typically releases the data in batches, so even if the release date is March 1, it may take additional time until all schools have the data they need.
GCU pledges to begin processing FAFSA data as soon as it becomes available to complete financial aid and award packages for students and their families.
