SLU Launching Financial Aid Estimator, Suspending Financial Aid Deadlines In Response to FAFSA Delays
ST. LOUIS — Challenges associated with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are expected to cause delays in the awarding of scholarships at colleges and universities nationwide.
In response, Saint Louis University (SLU) is breaking new ground to support students and families as they try to navigate this historically challenging financial aid application season.
SLU is launching an institutional aid application mirroring the FAFSA, enabling families to receive comprehensive financial aid awards by the end of February.
While families will still need to file a FAFSA, the proactive financial aid awards provided by SLU will stand independently of the FAFSA filing.
In addition to the institutional aid application, SLU is taking other proactive steps to ensure students and families receive timely financial aid awards:
Suspension of Financial Aid Application Deadlines: SLU is suspending all application-for-financial-aid deadlines, allowing families to submit applications when they are able to do so.
Extended Financial Aid Counseling Hours: SLU will offer extended financial aid counseling hours to accommodate families' questions and concerns, both online and in person, meeting them wherever they are in the process.
"Selecting a college is a monumental decision, and the FAFSA delay only adds an extra layer of stress,” said Rob Reddy, SLU’s vice president for enrollment management. "We understand the magnitude of this decision for families, and we are committed to supporting them throughout the process.”
“SLU has always taken a personalized approach to financial aid,” Reddy added. “Taking these innovative actions is a way for us to live our Jesuit mission and to extend a helping hand to students and families at a time they need it most.”
The University is reaching out to families to let them know that SLU is working on a solution to address the FAFSA delay and will be sending them additional information in the coming days and weeks. Once launched, the new SLU institutional aid application will be available in the Billiken Gateway portal, a secure system families and students already use.
Latest Newslink
- Saint Louis University Staff, Faculty Participate in Civil Rights Immersion TripSupported by the Office of Mission and Identity, Saint Louis University employees recently participated in a Civil Rights immersion trip. The group of nine, led by Patrick Cousins, pastoral formation director in Mission and Identity, took a road trip from SLU’s campus in St. Louis to sites in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia after the spring semester ended.
- Saint Louis University Provides a Space for Religious Discernment to FlourishSaint Louis University provides an institutional framework to support men and women seeking religious vocations. Founded in 1889, SLU’s College of Philosophy and Letters oversees undergraduate and graduate programs oriented by the Jesuit commitment to intelligent service of faith and justice in dialogue with culture. The programs provide the philosophical and intellectual background needed for further studies in theology and ministry for future priests and nuns, as well as engaged laity within the Catholic Church.
- Helen De Cruz, Ph.D.: 1978-2025Helen De Cruz, Ph.D., the Danforth Chair in the Humanities at Saint Louis University, died Friday, June 20, 2025. She was 46. The Belgian-born philosopher examined why and how humans engage in pursuits that seem remote from the immediate concerns of survival and reproduction, such as theology, mathematics, and science.
- 'I am More Than Just a Refugee': A SLU Student Shares His StoryThe Saint Louis University-Jesuit Worldwide Learning (SLU-JWL) program offers remote bachelor's degrees to international students displaced by conflict, lack of opportunity, and poverty in places such as refugee camps in Kenya and Malawi. One student, Dictor Olame, reflected on his experience as a SLU student in the Kakuma refugee camp in North-Western Kenya.
- SLU Supports St. Louis by Hosting City's Tornado Relief CenterIn the weeks following a devastating tornado that tore through St. Louis on May 16, hundreds of households have turned to a centralized Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) at Chaifetz Arena for assistance.
- Persistence Pays Off for Fulbright Award RecipientAnuj Gandhi is a Fulbright Scholar. A year after being chosen as an alternate, Gandhi has been chosen for a Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Award. With the Award, the recent Saint Louis University graduate intends to "investigate how globalization-based acculturation influences Indian young adults' attitudes toward mental health and treatment options."
