Students will likely receive financial aid offers later than usual. It’s all because of a slowed rollout of the new, simplified version of the FAFSA application, which decides federal financial aid.

When does the FAFSA form usually open?

Oct. 1 of each year.

Why did it open late?

With a mandate from Congress to simplify the application, the Department of Education had until Jan. 1 to simplify the application, which was previously more than 100 questions.

The form opened on Dec. 30, but a host of technical difficulties caused limited availability for people to fill it out.

How many people have filled out the application since?

More than three million, according to the Department of Education.

When can students expect financial aid now?

Information from the FAFSA was supposed to start transferring to colleges in January, but now it will likely be sent in March. With colleges taking a few weeks to process that information, students may not see their full financial packages until April.

GUEST: Lisa Kurian Phillip, WBEZ higher education reporter