As FAFSA’s Priority Deadline Fast Approaches, Threats to Pull Federal Funding Create Uncertainty

Federal Aid has been financially assisting students since 1965 and has been essential for those attending college or career schools. With Donald Trump entering his new presidential term, he has been open about his plans for freezing funds, loans and work-study programs for students. Although a federal judge temporarily blocked his push for a pause on aid, the President’s executive orders have sparked discourse on how this decision can immensely impact students across the nation and affect their chance at a postsecondary education.

These cuts would impact first-generation, low-income and financially disadvantaged students the most. Stanislaus State in particular is an institution that has a high enrollment number of low-income students. In fact, the campus was previously ranked as one of the best schools in the nation which educates economically disadvantaged students. This is largely due to the fact that Federal Aid has been able to benefit this population through their educational journey.

Lesley Cantu (Psychology, Senior) is a current student that relies on Federal Aid to continue her education.

“Financial aid helps me as a student to be able to further my education in a way that I wouldn’t be able to do so by myself,” she said. “I’m a first gen student and Stan being as cost affordable as it is, sometimes we need more. I was lucky that the Cal Grant helped my family tremendously and lifted the burden of financial worry off our shoulders.”

Alumni Belle Malek also benefited from Federal Aid and revealed that with its assistance, she was able to receive free tuition, full coverage for on-campus housing and meal plan credits. Recognizing the importance of Federal Aid and its positive impact on our student population, she has returned to campus as an Admin Support Assistant in the Stan State Financial Aid & Scholarship Department. She takes care of students during the financial aid process with handling their information such as taxes, forms and documents needed to submit.

“Within the past month we’ve helped about 500 to 600 students just in person. But we definitely get more over our chat box online and over phones,” Malek said.

By constantly working with students on these applications, she realizes the negative impact they might face if they didn’t have the opportunity to gain Federal Aid.

“I think students would stop going to school. Only because education can be expensive,” she added.

A lot of families and students are in need of financial assistance for college but are often confused on how to access it. Luckily there are a lot of institutions and programs built to help them complete the correct applications and earn Federal Aid for their education. The California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) is an example of a program which is designed to support students who are seeking further education with financial and academic information. There are local Cal-Soap programs that specialize in promoting and assisting students with the Financial Aid application process.

Shawn McCall (Program Manager for Merced Cal-Soap) and her team help several thousand students every year with their financial aid application through one-on-one appointments and workshops throughout Merced County and some neighboring counties. She feels that Cal-Soap makes a difference in student’s lives.

“Applications can sometimes be confusing and may feel overwhelming,” McCall said, “We are there to make sure they have assistance and the information they need to make the process less anxiety provoking and frustrating.”

McCall is passionate about helping students and finds Federal Aid to be a crucial part of their success.

“I believe that, for most students, financial aid is imperative. College can be expensive, and where we live in California, most families are either at the poverty level, or just above the poverty level. Without financial aid, most of the students and families we serve would not be able to afford college,” she said. “If financial aid in our nation is taken away, I believe we would see a massive decline in college enrollment across all categories of colleges and universities.”

If you haven’t filled out your Financial Aid or California Dream Act application for the 2025-2026 school year, the priority deadline is April 2nd. If you need assistance on your application or have any questions, you can contact the Financial Aid & Scholarship office at [email protected], (209) 667- 3336 or walk into MSR 100.

This story was updated on 2/28/25 to reflect that the deadline for FSFA and CDA has been extended from March 3rd to April 2nd.