The University of Minnesota and some private colleges in the state announced Thursday that they will give students more time to decide whether they want to attend, after the federal government announced FAFSA delays that mean financial aid offers from colleges nationwide will go out later than usual.
Students accepted to the U’s Twin Cities campus will now have until May 15 to commit to attending next fall, as opposed to the typical May 1 deadline, Provost Rachel Croson told regents in a public meeting. Croson said students attending the university’s four other campuses — Crookston, Duluth, Morris and Rochester — will have until “June 1 or later.”
Robert McMaster, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, said in a statement: “We know that choosing a university and figuring out how to pay for it are significant decisions for most students and families. We wanted to provide incoming students additional time to receive their financial aid offer, apply for housing, and make the right college decision for their circumstances.”
Admissions officers at several private schools — Augsburg University, Gustavus Adolphus College, and the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University — also announced extensions.
The changes came roughly a week after the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would be sharing students’ financial aid information with schools weeks later than anticipated, sending college leaders across the country scrambling to figure out if they should adjust their decision deadlines.
In a typical year, nearly 18 million Americans — including about 225,000 Minnesotans — fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a form overseen by the U.S. Department of Education that is used to determine which government loans and grants students should receive. Students can elect to share their information with colleges, which can then download the data and use it to determine if people are eligible for aid they offer as well.
But the U.S. Department of Education announced last week that schools won’t be able to access that information until March — about six weeks later than expected.
Decision deadlines vary, but many schools ask students to commit by May 1. That included many of the University of Minnesota campuses, as well as the private schools that announced extensions.