LOGAN – From the time the U.S. Department of Education rolled out a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) system in December, problems have plagued the new system, leading to delays in processing students’ applications.

Responding to those delays, Utah State University has extended its academic scholarship application deadline for first-time students to June 1, 2024.

Craig Whyte, USU assistant vice president & executive director for Student Financial Support, said in extending the application deadline another month, the hope is that more students will be able to access financial resources offered by USU.

Initially, the new form to streamline the process to make it easier for families to submit those applications appeared to be successful. However, other problems have plagued the site since its Dec. 30 launch.

Glitches in the new FAFSA system, including issues in the new form, led to miscalculation of inflation. That led to problems correctly calculating aid and has required thousands of applications to be re-processed and re-sent to schools.

Department of Education said that miscalculation has been resolved and about 200,000 applications were affected out of nearly two million processed this year.

But with over 7 million applications in the pipeline, these delays have created a snag in processing.

USU officials said students who have met previous scholarship deadlines and have been awarded an academic scholarship, are encouraged to submit the scholarship reconsideration form which will allow them to submit updated high school GPA and/or test scores which will be taken into consideration.

Students with questions or in need of assistance with the application process are encouraged to contact their assigned admissions specialist.



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