Donald Trump

A brief White House pause on federal grants and loans this week raised questions about its impact on financial aid applications.

The Trump administration implemented this pause on Wednesday. However, the Department of Education clarified that direct aid to individuals, including federal student loans, remained unaffected.

The FAFSA application remained accessible throughout this period. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators reported no complaints regarding FAFSA access from any schools.

Despite this, many borrowers online inquired about the FAFSA’s status.

Is the FAFSA form paused?

No. Student loans, Pell Grants, and other direct student aid programs were unaffected by the funding pause.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) remains available for completion at [link removed].

“We continue to award and disburse [aid],” the Federal Student Aid Office of the U.S. Department of Education stated on its website.

FAFSA applications for the 2024-2025 academic year are due June 30th. After this date, the application will be unavailable online, though individual colleges may have earlier deadlines.

How were college students affected by the Trump administration’s funding pause?

Colleges nationwide issued statements expressing uncertainty about the memorandum’s impact and stated they were assessing potential effects on students, staff, and programs. However, disruptions to student financial aid were not anticipated.

“Funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, and other similar programs will not be paused,” the U.S. Office of Management and Budget announced.

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