Dates and Deadlines
Dates and Deadlines
Important Deadlines
We don't use artificial deadlines to create stress in your life. But there are some important dates that we are held to also. After those dates pass, we are limited in how we can help. To maximize your opportunity to qualify and receive as much aid as possible, it is important to be aware of the various deadlines for each step of the financial aid process.
The best way to avoid missing the deadline? Monitor your email and respond to requests for documents ASAP! Consider adding our email address (financialaid@rowan.edu) to your phone VIP list. We promise not to spam you!
The most important deadline? Making sure all of your aid is processed before your enrollment ending. Keep in mind that we are unable to originate a federal student or parent PLUS loan once you are no longer enrolled at least half-time. This means that if you have a registration hold for a past-due balance and the semester ends, your options for paying that balance are significantly limited. Most likely, your only option will be to use a private education loan.
Please review the critical deadlines below.
Deadlines
FAFSA
**The 2025-2026 FAFSA will be delayed due to changes by the US Department of Education. It is expected to be available in December 2024**
Under normal circumstances, the FAFSA becomes available on October 1st the year prior to school beginning. For example, for the 2023-2024 school year, the FAFSA became available October 1, 2022. This also explains why it uses financial data from the year prior - such as 2021 tax information for the 23/24 FAFSA.
We encourage all students submit their FAFSA no later than April 1st each year. This ensures you meet the State grants deadline and that we have plenty of time to process any subsequent tasks and prepare your financial aid package for the upcoming school year.
| Aid Year | Priority Deadline | Final Deadline (~18 months after FAFSA opens) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | Before April 15, 2024 | June 30, 2025 |
| 2025-2026 | Before April 15, 2025 | June 30, 2026 |
New Jersey Aid (TAG, GSG, NJ Stars II, EOF)
The FAFSA must be RECEIVED by the Federal processor (not postmarked/submitted) by the posted dates to be considered for the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG), Education Opportunity Fund (EOF) Garden State Guarantee (GSG), Governor’s Urban Scholarship (GUS), and NJ STARS II programs. In most cases, your FAFSA for the upcoming year must be processed before April 15th. To ensure adequate time for your FAFSA to process, we strongly recommend the FAFSA is completed for all students by April 1st each year.
Federal Student and Parent Loans
| Semester | Loans must be originated & accepted PRIOR to: |
|---|---|
| Fall | the last day of classes for the Fall term. |
| Spring | the last day of classes for the Spring term. |
| Summer | the last day of classes for the Summer term. |
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeals
If you are not meeting the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) you may be able to submit an appeal in order to regain eligibility for the upcoming term. You would have received an email from our office explaining the process. Please make sure you submit your appeal to us as soon as possible, but definitely within the deadlines below.
SAP is a federal student eligibility requirement. In accordance with federal regulations, if the semester ends and you have not resolved your SAP suspension/denial then you are ineligible for aid for that semester - even if you later resolve your status. This is why it is critical that your appeal be received and reviewed prior to the end of the term.
| If you are ineligible for aid for... | You must have an approved appeal no later than: |
|---|---|
| Fall | the last day of classes of the Fall term. |
| Spring | the last day of classes of the Spring term. |
| Summer | the last day of classes of the Summer term. |
Other Financial Aid Appeals
Financial aid appeals due to a qualifying change in family income (Income Adjustment Appeal), or to dependency status related to special and unusual circumstances (Dependency Override Appeal) generally require a process of submitting appropriate documentation to our office.
When we approve your appeal we may make adjustments to the data on your FAFSA which will require it to be reprocessed. In addition, if you become eligible for state grant aid as a result of our adjustments, we'll need to have the appeal approved and updates made prior to the state certification deadlines.
Submitting your appeal prior to these dates below allows us time to review and finalize your appeal request and ensure that you receive maximum benefit.
To receive maximum consideration of fall aid, submit your appeal no later than September 1st.To receive maximum consideration of spring aid, submit your appeal no later than February 1st.
