TU decision day moves to May 15 amid FAFSA delays

By Gabriel Donahue, editor-in-chief

Towson University has pushed back its 2024 decision day by two weeks amid federal delays in reporting student financial aid information to colleges and universities. 

The University System of Maryland, which includes Towson, announced the system-wide decision Thursday to give students until May 15 to accept admission offers.  

Leadership there made the decision following feedback from university presidents, according to an email from Mike Lurie, a university system spokesperson. 

Towson’s president, Mark Ginsberg, provided feedback supporting the new deadline, he said in an email Friday.

Ginsberg said he considered it important for the change to “be modest in order for us to notify our students of financial aid decisions in as timely a way as possible while also providing our university the opportunity successfully to plan for student support services, such as New Student Orientation, and fall semester classes.”

Prospective students usually must accept offers by the national decision day, May 1. 

However, a revamp of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid led to delays on the national level, and colleges will not receive the information needed to determine financial aid packages until March, according to a Higher Ed Dive article. 

Usually, Towson would have started receiving the information from each FAFSA applicant on a rolling basis in October, Boyd Bradshaw, vice president for enrollment management, said in an interview last week. 

With the delay, it has not yet received any of that data. Subsequently, universities were left with a shorter window to send out financial aid offers, Bradshaw said.

This story may be updated.

Gabriel Donahue

Gabe Donahue has held numerous positions within The Towerlight. He started as a writer before becoming the News Editor, and now he serves as Editor-in-Chief.