Some college-bound students and their parents face a deadline Thursday for applying to qualify for state financial aid using the new, troubled FAFSA process.
The initial rollout of the Free Application For Student Aid created a multitude of problems, including delayed release of students' financial information colleges and universities need to determine if they qualify for financial aid and how much they receive.
Some Bay Area schools have extended their deadlines because of the FAFSA fiasco. San Jose State and UC Berkeley have set a May 15 deadline while San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay have set a June 1 deadline.
Meanwhile, acceptance letters have gone out, and deadlines to accept are looming.
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Sonia Jethani, Cal State East Bay's vice president of Financial Aid and Compliance, advised students to not commit until they know what they can afford.
"If you have not received your financial aid package yet and you are coming to the deadline to decide, what I suggest is that you contact your admissions office to the colleges that you’re applying to ask for additional days so you can get all the necessary information that you need to make a decision," Jethani said.
For federal aid, students have until June 30 to submit an application.
