New financial aid application process in effect for 2017-2018 school year
December 8, 2016
According to Elizabeth Keuffel, director of Financial Aid at Saint Anselm College, the college will be changing its financial aid application process to coincide with President Barack Obama’s higher education reform. The new financial aid application process commences at the start of the 2017-2018 school year.
In order to apply for financial aid for higher education costs, families and student are required to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form to start the process of working with colleges and universities to see how much financial aid they will receive.
In the past years, the FAFSA became available on Jan. 1 and was due on Apr. 15. This new policy gives families three more months to fill out the application. The application will now be available on Oct. 1 giving families and students more time to prepare and fill out the application.
Director of Financial Aid Elizabeth Keuffel answers questions about the new process.
Another major change Keuffel explained was that as part of the FAFSA, applicants and their families are asked to submit their past year’s financial and tax records. But because the due date is so close to when taxes are due, the new financial aid policy allows people to submit their records from two years prior instead of the prior year to make sure all families have equal and fair opportunities in obtaining assistance when figuring out finances for their child’s education.
This new financial aid policy will affect all current higher education students and upcoming ones. Current students will also have the option of applying earlier for financial aid if they chose so, but the due date of Apr. 15 will remain in effect for everyone.
Keuffel would also like to stress that this new policy will not change the cost of the tuition at Saint Anselm College or the decision on how much financial aid an individual and their family gets.
If anyone has any questions or concerns about financial aid, Keuffel and the rest of the financial aid office at Saint Anselm College encourages you to call or email them. To contact them: their phone number is (603) 641-7110 and their email is [email protected].
