The rocky rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid has wreaked havoc on colleges’ admission timelines. They’ve done their best to adapt; when the department announced in January that it would not begin sending out processed student aid forms until mid-March, some institutions promptly pushed back their traditional May 1 commitment deadlines to give students and their financial aid offices more time.
Others held out hope that wouldn’t be necessary. But since the department began sending out Institutional Student Information Records, or ISIRs, last month, many more institutions have extended their deposit deadlines.