Rutgers Extends Deadline to Accept Admissions Offers to June 1

FAFSA submission deadline extended to March 15

Rutgers University is extending the fall enrollment commitment deadline for incoming first-year students to June 1 after moving the deadline to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to March 15 due to delays with the U.S. Department of Education’s financial aid application process.

The university is moving the deadline for students to accept admissions offers from May 1 to give students more time to receive the financial aid information needed to make enrollment decisions. As a result of extensive changes made to simplify the federal financial aid application, universities and colleges won’t start getting information from the FAFSA forms until March at the earliest, months after it is normally sent. The delayed information is used to determine financial aid packages for incoming students.  

“We know that because of federal delays in the new FAFSA forms there is a great deal of uncertainty about when financial packages will be ready,” said Jean McDonald-Rash, associate vice president for enrollment management. “For this reason, we have extended our deadline to June 1 for accepting admissions offers.” 

The new priority FAFSA deadline will give students and families more time to apply for financial aid while still ensuring that the university receives all data required to make financial aid awards.

“We also understand that changes to the 2024-2025 FAFSA have resulted in a variety of issues for students and families submitting the new forms. We are extending the Rutgers priority filing deadline to provide additional time and information to ease the process,” McDonald-Rash said. “Rutgers remains committed to access, affordability, and to providing financial services and education to support our students and families.”

The late data is delaying Rutgers’ financial aid notifications for incoming students. The university will provide aid notifications as quickly as possible once the university receives and processes the data from the U.S. Department of Education. 

For more information, students and families are encouraged to visit the university’s FAFSA information page for financial aid timeline updates and other information regarding the new FAFSA.