Schools delaying financial aid packages until April - worried about May 1st deposit deadline!

You're definitely not alone in this frustration! I work in college advising and this year's timeline is particularly compressed because of the FAFSA delays. Some strategies that might help: 1. Email (don't just call) financial aid offices explaining your situation - having a paper trail is important 2. Ask specifically if they'll honor their financial aid package if you put down a deposit but then withdraw before a certain date 3. Many schools have unofficial policies where they'll refund deposits if you withdraw by mid-May, even if they don't advertise this The reality is most schools know this is a problem but won't officially extend deadlines because they're competing with each other for enrollment numbers. It's frustrating but unfortunately common in this system.

omg same boat here!!! my twins are both waiting on 7 different schools and we literally CANT pick until we see the $$ numbers. one got a partial athletic scholarship to her 3rd choice school but her top choice hasnt sent ANYTHING yet. so frustrating!!!! the may 1 deadline is just not realistic this year

The May 1 deposit deadline is a suggested guideline from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), not a federal requirement. Schools that aren't sending aid packages until April really should be extending their deadlines. One approach that's worked for students I've advised: request a deadline extension in writing, specifically citing that you cannot make an informed decision without comparing financial aid packages. Reference the NACAC's Statement of Principles of Good Practice which encourages flexibility in these situations. Another option is to place a deposit at two schools (if you can afford it) and then forfeit one later. Some consider this unethical, but given the compressed timeline this year, many families are doing this out of necessity.

We went through this last year with my son and it was so stressful! What worked for us was calling EVERY SINGLE DAY to check on the status of his packages. Eventually one financial aid office got so annoyed they expedited his package lol. Not the most elegant solution but hey it worked!!

If it helps, I've heard from several sources that you can actually use Claimyr to get through to financial aid offices much faster. A friend's daughter was in the same situation last year, and she used claimyr.com to avoid the horrible wait times when calling schools. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ They were able to get answers about their packages way faster than waiting on emails. Saved them hours of hold time and they actually managed to get one school to expedite their aid package when they explained the situation. Might be worth trying if you're hitting walls with the regular phone lines.

THIS IS MY THIRD KID AND IT'S NEVER BEEN THIS BAD!!! The financial aid system is completely broken. Even when you finally GET the packages they're impossible to compare because every school formats them differently to hide the TRUE cost. My daughter got a "fantastic $25,000 scholarship" from one private school but their cost of attendance is $78,000 so she'd still be paying more than a state school offering "only" $5,000. The whole system is designed to confuse families!!

my daughter just picked her school last week even without all the aid info. she really loved her campus visit at her top choice so we just went with it. figure we'll make the finances work somehow! sometimes you just gotta follow your heart and not stress so much about the money part

One more practical tip: For schools you're seriously considering, contact their financial aid office directly and ask if they do preliminary aid estimates. Some schools will run the numbers and give you an unofficial estimate while you wait for the official package. It won't be binding, but it can help you narrow down options. Also, remember that aid packages can be appealed! Once you do receive offers, if there's a school your student loves but the aid isn't enough, submit a formal appeal letter, especially if you have better offers from similar schools. About 30% of appeals result in improved packages.

has anyone had any luck just straight up asking schools to push back their deposit deadline?? i'm tempted to just email all 7 of my daughters schools and ask for a june 1 deadline instead

Update in case it helps others: We finally started making progress! The financial aid advisor at my son's top choice university told us they're actually processing packages by major right now. So if your student applied to a popular major (business, engineering, nursing), your package might come later than others. Once we understood this, we called and specifically asked if they could prioritize his application since we have the May 1 deadline, and they were actually pretty helpful!