Arkansas Tech University and other institutions of higher education around the United States have been notified that 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) delivery will be delayed until the first half of March 2024.
The U.S. Department of Education announcement comes after a long process to redesign the FAFSA, called FAFSA Simplification. FAFSA Simplification caused the initial launch to be deferred until late December 2023. Consequently, crucial software specification updates due to the ATU Office of Financial Aid are also delayed, further impacting the timeliness of award offers to fall 2024 students.
“Eligible students can and should complete the FAFSA now,” said Niki Schwartz, ATU director of student aid. “However, it is worth noting the FAFSA is still unavailable to certain groups of students who are unable to log in or complete it. These include eligible students in special family circumstances, as well as students who make simple mistakes on the form and who cannot log back in to correct them and submit. The ATU Office of Financial Aid understands the frustration of students and families and is working diligently to implement the updates as they are released.”
Here are additional important details for students and their families:
• The ATU Office of Financial Aid should receive FAFSA applicant information by the end of March 2024.
• If a student needs to make corrections to the FAFSA, they must wait until mid-March; students will receive an e-mail once their first FAFSA is processed.
• At this time, the ATU Office of Financial Aid is unsure when aid for 2024-2025 will be packaged.
The FAFSA and all information regarding federal student aid can be found at https://studentaid.gov.
Contact the ATU Office of Financial Aid at fa.help@atu.edu or (479) 968-0399 with any questions.
