February 21, 2011 | Richard Veilleux

Financial Aid Applications Due March 1, Despite Federal Budget Battle

UConn's financial aid director says families should still file their applications on time.

<p>A photo portrait of Jean Main in front of the Student Financial Aid Services Office. Photo by Ariel Dowski</p>
Financial aid director Jean Main stands in front of the Student Financial Aid Services Office. Photo by Ariel Dowski

Despite conflicting budget proposals announced recently in Washington regarding Pell Grants, UConn’s director of financial aid, Jean Main, says continuing and new students and their parents should continue filling out and submitting their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for grant money needed in the 2011-12 academic year. Students and families should plan to have their FAFSA application to the federal processor by March 1.

“The FAFSA on-time deadline at UConn is March 1,” Main says. “Later in the month we’ll start building [financial aid] packages. Families should make sure they’re either early or, certainly, on time, to take advantage of what funds are available.”

The forms will still be accepted after March 1, Main says, but applications that are received on time receive preference when her office prepares aid packages.

Both proposals being floated in the nation’s Capitol – one by President Barack Obama, who released his budget proposal for 2012 on Feb. 15, and a continuing resolution submitted by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, necessary for government to continue functioning absent a current budget – make changes to the Pell Grant program, one of the primary funding sources for needy students.

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduates to promote access to postsecondary education. Grant amounts are dependent on the student’s expected family contribution, the cost of attendance, the student’s enrollment status (full-time or part-time), and whether the student attends for a full academic year. Unlike a loan, the Pell Grants do not have to be repaid.

Obama’s budget proposal would continue funding for Pell Grants of as much as $5,550 a year, which is $819 more than the 2008 level. However, his budget eliminates a rule passed that same year that allows students to receive a second Pell Grant in any given year to help them attend classes during the summer, thus enabling them to graduate on time or early.

The continuing resolution produced by the House of Representatives is silent on the extra summer grant, but cuts the maximum grant by 15 percent, or $845.