About 65 percent of Yalies apply for financial aid, some of which comes from Federal funding. Although the ongoing federal budget debate does not affect Yale College for now, further government shutdowns and backlog may have a profound impact on returning students.
"We are following the normal procedure and timetable without disruption in the process. We're not experiencing any more problems than other schools such as Princeton or Harvard," Yale University Financial Aid Director Donald Routh said.
All students seeking financial aid are required to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In conjunction with the FAFSA, students must also file the Financial Aid Profile (FAP), formerly known as the Financial Aid Form (FAF).
In the past, College Scholarship Service (CSS), the company that processed the FAF, was affiliated with the federal government. Other federal contractors processed financial aid applications for the Department of Education (DOE), and results were relayed to colleges. Schools allotted Stafford loans, Pell Grants, and work study provision, on the basis of the processed data. Since CSS became independent last year, processing of the FAP will remain unaffected by federal bureaucratic problems.
The Yale Financial Aid Office has yet to begin awarding continuing students. However, federal aid and loan eligibility for summer school and returning students will require both the CSS Profile and FAFSA. Jim Tilton, director of undergraduate financial aid, said. Tilton emphasized that students should submit their forms as ealry as possible.
"If the government goes on furlow again on Monday, then we might be at a disadvantage," Routh said. The current Continuing Resolution will expire on Monday. If another Continuing Resolution or an official 1996 budget is not passed, then the federal loan office will shut down again. Should this happen, the applications will be processed in the order that they are received.
While the delays in federal processing are an obstacle to admissions processes of other universities, especially state schools, Yale's dual FAP/FAFSA system is minimizing financial uncertainty for incoming students. According to Tilton, determination of financial aid packages for future freshmen was possible despite current budget problems.
"New students aren't yet affected by the federal backlog. We'll be mailing out awards to the prospective members of the class of 2000 today," he said. And since the prospective freshmen should have returned their FAFSA applications in early January, their entire financial aid packages should be complete by the end of May. Yalies can remain at ease for the present, but the future is uncertain. The situation is urgent for other universities who depend only on the FAFSA. Affected students will not receive financial aid information in the near future. By March last year, 1.25 million of the annual 10 million federal financial aid forms had been computed and returned. So far this year, fewer than 150,000 applications have been processed.
DOE officials blame government shutdowns, computer glitches, and snow storms for the massive backlog. Ironically, the DOE's predicament coincides with the expansion of its power: President Clinton's creation of the direct federal lending program.
"The Department of Education projects on having the applications processed by April 15," Cassandra Crowley, a DOE spokeswoman said. She did not comment on how DOE plans to catch up.
Still, Yalies appear to be safe for the moment, unlike many students may be forced to choose a college without knowing which school is willing to give aid.
Copyright 1996, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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