FAFSA timing nightmare - can colleges release aid packages earlier when commitment deadlines conflict?
Help! I'm caught in this weird timing trap with my daughter's top college choices. School A won't release financial aid packages until May 7th but their commitment deadline is May 15th. Meanwhile, School B requires a commitment deposit by May 1st with NO financial info yet! Has anyone successfully asked a college to expedite their financial aid package? My daughter really wants to make an informed decision based on actual costs, but the timeline makes this impossible. We submitted FAFSA back in February and both schools confirmed receipt, so all the info they need is there. Is this just a strategy schools use to lock students in before they can compare offers? Anyone know if financial aid offices will consider urgent timeline requests?
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Diego Vargas
facing same issue w/ my son rn. called both schools - school A flat out said no they won't expedite. school B said they'd "note it in the file" whatever that means.
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Chloe Harris
•Ugh, that's exactly what I was afraid of hearing. Did School B at least give you a timeline for when they might release the packages?
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NeonNinja
Financial aid professional here. Yes, you can absolutely request expedited processing due to conflicting deadlines. Email both financial aid offices explaining the exact situation and SPECIFIC deadlines. Mark the subject line "Urgent: Conflicting Financial Aid Deadlines - [Student Name]". Be extremely polite but direct. Most schools have processes for priority processing in these exact scenarios, but you need to be explicit about the timing conflict. Also, call to follow up 2-3 days after emailing - this significantly increases your chances of getting action. For school requiring May 1 commitment: request a deposit extension pending financial aid offer from both schools. They often grant these when other schools have later notification dates.
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Chloe Harris
•Thank you so much! I'll email both schools today and follow up with calls. Do you think mentioning that these are her top choices would help or hurt our case? I don't want to seem like we're playing the schools against each other.
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Anastasia Popov
lol schools do this ON PURPOSE to trap u into committing before comparing offers. they know exactly what theyre doing. my cousins bf works in admissions and says its standard practice for mid-tier schools to force commits b4 u see all ur options.
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Sean Murphy
•That's not entirely accurate. While timing can work to a school's advantage, most financial aid offices are genuinely overwhelmed with processing thousands of packages. The May 1 commitment date is a national standard for many colleges, not something individual schools created to trap students. That said, the timing discrepancy OP described is problematic and should be addressed through proper channels. Colleges generally want informed decisions, not trapped students who may ultimately transfer out.
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Zara Khan
We went through this exact headache last year with my son's applications. It was INCREDIBLY frustrating. What worked for us was: 1. Call financial aid office directly (don't just email) 2. Explain the competing deadlines situation 3. Ask if they can provide at minimum an ESTIMATED aid package 4. Request a deposit extension from the school with earlier deadline Two of four schools gave us preliminary numbers, one granted a deposit extension, and one refused to do either. Guess which one my son DIDN'T attend?
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Chloe Harris
•This is really helpful - thank you! Did you have to provide any additional documentation to get the estimated package? I'm willing to call daily if needed.
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Zara Khan
•Nope, no additional docs required. They already had our FAFSA on file. The key was speaking to someone senior enough - if the first person says no, politely ask to speak with a financial aid counselor or supervisor. Good luck!
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Luca Ferrari
have u tried Claimyr to reach financial aid offices? i was going CRAZY trying to get through to someone at my daughter's colleges about the exact same issue. used claimyr.com and got connected to a financial aid counselor in under 10 minutes. sent them through to my voicemail and they actually called back! they have this video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ saved me hours of redial hell.
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Chloe Harris
•I've never heard of this service before. Does it work for any college financial aid office? I've been trying the regular numbers and just getting voicemail.
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Luca Ferrari
•works for most major schools since they connect you to the main financial aid lines. actually got through to both schools my daughter applied to! definitely better than spending all day hitting redial.
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Nia Davis
You might be overthinking this. Just put down deposits at both schools to hold your spots, then when all the financial aid info comes in, you can make your final decision. Yes, you'll lose one deposit, but that's better than losing a spot at your daughter's dream school. Consider the lost deposit as the cost of having options.
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Anastasia Popov
•not everyone has $500-1000 lying around to make multiple deposits!! this is such privileged advice smh
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Sean Murphy
Former financial aid counselor here. A few practical steps: 1. Request a written timeline extension from the school with the May 1 deadline. Be sure to GET THIS IN WRITING if granted. 2. Ask both schools for a "preliminary aid estimate" based on your FAFSA data - many schools can provide this even if final packages aren't ready. 3. If School A is releasing packages May 2-3 and School B needs a decision May 1, focus your energy on getting that extension from School B. Emphasize your strong interest but need to make an informed financial decision. 4. Understand that your SAI (Student Aid Index) will be the same at both schools, so the main differences will be in institutional aid, merit scholarships, and loan package structures. Most importantly, document EVERY conversation - name, date, what was promised. This will be crucial if you need to reference these conversations later.
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Chloe Harris
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I didn't realize we could ask for a preliminary estimate - that might solve everything. And good point about documenting conversations... I'll start a dedicated notebook for this.
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Mateo Martinez
The whole financial aid system is DESIGNED to confuse families and hide the true cost until it's too late to back out. My daughter ended up at a school that promised one thing in May and delivered something completely different in August. By then it was too late to switch. The FAFSA is just a big game where colleges hold all the cards.
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NeonNinja
•While I understand your frustration, this isn't entirely accurate. Financial aid packages are binding offers from the institution, and significant unexplained changes can be appealed. If your daughter's package changed substantially without changes in your financial circumstances, that should have been grounds for an appeal or even reporting to the Department of Education. Colleges are required to honor their financial aid offers unless there are major changes in eligibility factors.
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Diego Vargas
just wondering did either school give u merit scholarships yet? sometimes they send those separate from need-based aid and u can at least compare those while waiting
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Chloe Harris
•School B actually did send a merit scholarship letter about 3 weeks ago ($8,500/year), but School A combines merit and need-based aid in one package. So we still can't make a true comparison yet.
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Anastasia Sokolov
I went through this exact situation two years ago with my twins! Here's what actually worked: I called both financial aid offices and explained I had twins with overlapping but conflicting deadlines at different schools. I asked to speak directly with a financial aid director, not just the front desk staff. The key phrase that got results was: "I need to make an informed financial decision for my family, and these timeline conflicts make that impossible." One school moved up their aid release by a week, and the other granted a 10-day extension on the commitment deadline. Also - document everything in writing! Send follow-up emails after every phone call summarizing what was discussed and any commitments made. This saved us when one school tried to backtrack on their timeline promise. Don't give up - squeaky wheel gets the grease, and most schools genuinely want to help families make informed decisions.
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