ORLANDO, Fla. — Weeks into the fall semester, thousands of University of Central Florida students are still waiting on the financial aid they were counting on to cover rent, food and textbooks, and some frustrated students have launched a petition demanding answers.
The delays come as colleges nationwide implement a major federal student loan overhaul that took effect for the 2026-27 school year, including new caps on parent loans of $20,000 per year and $65,000 per student.
Earl Richards, a senior studying biology at UCF, said he applied for financial aid last spring and still has not received any of his money.
“It’s about to be a year,” Richards said.
He said he has returned to the financial aid office repeatedly, only to be told to keep waiting.
“I actually came the second day of school, and they told me, hey, you know things are just going a little slow. Just wait a little bit,” Richards said. “I came back. I think this is the fourth week of school, so I came back last week. Still nothing. Hey, you just gotta wait. So I’m here again today.”
Richards said he worries most about classmates who are working to put themselves through school without a safety net, noting the money covers far more than tuition.
“It’s going to housing, gas. You know, all the things,” he said.
In a statement to Channel 9, UCF said it completed its main fall disbursement on September 3, providing about 156.7 million dollars to 37,525 students. The university said roughly 3,000 students are still under review and expects most of those cases to be resolved within the next two to three weeks.
UCF attributed the delays to the complexity of the federal changes. The university said a new requirement forces it to recalculate loan eligibility for students enrolled less than full-time, a process that could not begin until after the August 28 add/drop deadline. It also cited summer software updates required to comply with the new federal rules.
The university said students who need money immediately can apply for short-term advances to help cover expenses such as housing, food, and course materials.
UCF said 165 students received about 126,500 dollars through that program between August 13 and September 1. Students with immediate needs are directed to contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance at 844-376-9160.
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