The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is now open for the 2017 to 2018 cycle and will be due Dec. 15.
The application became available Oct. 1. In addition to the date change, students will have to report their income information from the previous year. The changes will allow high-school seniors to know their financial aid earlier so they may be able to make more informed college decisions, said Rick Wilder, the director of Student Financial Affairs at UF.
“The earlier you apply, the better your chances of getting the kind of financial aid package that you want,” he said.
For the 2014 to 2015 school year, 82 percent of UF students received some form of aid from the federal financial aid program, Wilder said.
Student Financial Affairs doesn’t expect to see a change in the percentage due to the date change, he said.
“It’ll be much easier for (students and parents),” Wilder said, “because they don’t have to wait until their tax returns are completed to be able to complete the FAFSA application.”
Martin Salazar, 20, said he normally receives about $1,500 from the federal financial aid program and turns in his application in January. But he wasn’t aware of the change in deadline.
The UF accounting junior said he hasn’t had any issues with financial aid in the past, but he’ll make sure to meet the new deadline.
“I’ll probably have to do it as soon as possible,” he said.
