| PublicationDate: 9/3/96 Summary: 1997-98 FAFSA Printing Update Author: ODAS - Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary - SFA September 3, 1996 1997-98 FAFSA Printing Update Dear Colleagues: This is the first in a series of periodic announcements on our progress in printing and distributing the 1997-98 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As we reach milestones, or as new information becomes available, we will pass it along to you.. The 1997-98 FAFSA received final clearance from the Office of Management and Budget on August 19. Also on August 19, staff from our Training and Program Information Division brought the camera copy for the 1997-98 FAFSA to the Government Printing Office. This is the first step of the printing process. Exact dates for delivery are not yet available, but we believe our estimates below are reasonably accurate. (Note: the color for the 1997-98 FAFSA is green. Also, the FAFSA will have a return postcard. If a student wishes, he or she can enclose the postcard with the completed FAFSA, and the processor will date-stamp it and return it to the student. The student will know that the application was received, and the date it was received.) Tentative estimates for FAFSA delivery to the Department of Education are: ten million forms by October 15, and another ten million by October 29. This means that the first truckloads of printed forms will begin arriving at our warehouse around October 7th or 8th, and we will immediately begin mailing them out. This year, our first mailings will be to high schools. When all high school shipments are completed (we estimate that this will take approximately two to three days) we will begin shipping to postsecondary schools that have submitted orders to us using our new paperless application ordering system. As we ship, we will alternate between orders for schools east of the Mississippi and those west of the Mississippi. We expect to complete the process of mailing our expected initial distribution of 20 million FAFSAs to high schools, postsecondary schools, and libraries (in that order) by November 15. The FAFSAs will be shipped by fourth class mail, and our experience is that while most boxes take from one to four weeks to arrive, a few arrive more quickly, and some take longer. In early September, we will mail Dear Colleague letters spelling out the specifics of our new, paperless application ordering process, which offers speed, convenience, and expanded services to all our customers. We are committed to delivering the 1997-98 FAFSA to our customers as soon as possible, and to fully informing you of our progress toward that goal. Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Hicks Deputy Assistant Secretary Student Financial Assistance Programs |