‘Very Unpredictable’: Colleges Fear FAFSA Fiasco Will Hurt Enrollment
"This was shaping up to be a remarkable year for Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles. Applications were up 40 percent for the 2024-2025 academic year, and the women’s liberal arts school was on track to welcome its largest freshman class in eight years," The Washington Post reports.
..."Financial aid is essential for students at Mount St. Mary’s, where 67 percent of the admitted pool qualify for Pell Grants, a form of federal aid for undergraduates with exceptional financial need. The private school, with roughly 2,400 students, is still on target to meet its enrollment goal of around 450 freshmen, Dileno said. But she suspects that number may dip as some enrollees change their minds before the school year begins, a common problem known as summer melt.
Colleges always anticipate some amount of melt, but higher education experts worry this year will be especially tough because students are receiving financial aid offers much later in the admissions cycle than usual. According to the latest poll by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, 28 percent of colleges had not begun preparing financial aid offers as of May 7. Many colleges have extended their deposit deadlines to give students more time to receive and compare packages."
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Publication Date: 6/10/2024
