LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There's still time to apply for the FAFSA after a rocky rollout in 2023 blocked students out of the process at the beginning of this year. The executive director of the University of Louisville (UofL), Jenny Sawyer, said many current students could be leaving money on the table and graduating high schoolers may decide not to apply at all.
"Because at a time when so many of those students who aren't filling out the FAFSA are students who would benefit from it, we're wishing that they would just take the time, do that, and see what it would cost you to go to school," Sawyer said.
The revamped federal student aid application now accounts for inflation, meaning 10% of UofL students became eligible for Pell grants. But when the application was delayed, it pushed back nearly every deadline for the university.
"Like housing," Sawyer explained. "We extended the deadline to sign up for orientation. We tried to look at every place where a student had to put down money."
Incoming Junior Raegan Meguiar finished her application this summer.
The Lamar Jackson fan and communications major got more money from the FAFSA for next school year, but it required her to push past form-filling headaches.
"If I don't have this money, I may not be able to finish," Meguiar said. "So, I had no choice, but I was literally crying in the office because I was like, 'I can't figure out how to do this.'"
Experiences like hers are why Sawyer wants more students to close the gap on filling out their FAFSA. Despite an increase in admissions, the university saw 12% fewer FAFSAs than last year.
"I think there's a population of students that have just said, 'oh well, I just won't go to college,' and I think that's the population I worry most about," she said.
The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority offers assistance across the state for filling out the FAFSA.
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