INDIANAPOLIS — Schools are stuck in a holding pattern.
March is the new date when colleges and universities can expect to receive results from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Melissa Smurdon, at Butler University, said they are anxiously awaiting this information.
"We have launched a lot of additional communication to try to reassure and tell people what timeline we expect," Smurdon said.
FAFSA data is what helps dictate college affordability. The results are delayed for families country-wide after an overhaul to the application.
Smurdon believes that once they receive the data, it will take them three to four weeks to turn it into offer letters.
While May 1 is still Butler's deadline for students to commit, it could change.
For example, Purdue University and Indiana University Bloomington both extended their decision deadline to May 15. Ball State University said in an email that they are planning to move the May 1 national college decision date to a later date very soon, based on the Department of Education not providing FAFSA data to institutions until the first half of March at the earliest.
If families are trying to estimate costs, a tool is available to help.
"Our net price calculator tool, which is available online, would be valuable to them to get an estimate," Smurdon said.
Every college that offers federal financial aid is required to provide the calculator.
Purdue University's can be found here.
A different delay is affecting students with parents who do not have a Social Security number. Right now, they cannot fill out the FAFSA.
While a fix is expected, the Department of Education said there is a temporary workaround.