According to the U.S Department of Education in an email to previous Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applicants, “We’re making big changes to the 2024–25 FAFSA® form to create a better experience for students and families. These changes include expanded eligibility for federal student aid, a more streamlined application process and a better user experience for the FAFSA form.”
FAFSA’s goal is to provide additional aid to college students that qualify for federal aid. It is awarded to students who demonstrate financial need.
According to NORC at the University of Chicago survey, 75% of Americans believe people do not attend college because they cannot afford it. FAFSA offers many students that are financially restricted the opportunity to attend a university.
The new FAFSA application won’t open until December of 2023. This delayed opening of two months is due to many changes in the form. This year the form is completely removing the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) and replacing it with the Student Aid Index (SAI). EFC was traditionally the amount your family could contribute, now it is transferred to the SAI that determines how much the student would receive if they attended college. This new FAFSA form is intended to simplify the process, but not without many changes for students accessing the form.
A few changes include modifying the eligibility. As reported by bettercolleges, more students should have access to the Pell Grant and other additional aids.
A previous determining factor for FAFSA was the amount of children in the house attending university. This used to allow students with many siblings in the same household a discount on education since it’s difficult to pay for multiple students’ college costs at the same time. With this new FAFSA form, siblings in college within the same household are no longer eligible for additional aid. While the number of students in college is no longer a factor in the federal formula, the FAFSA still asks a question about the number of family members in college.
Previously if parents are divorced or separated, it was traditionally the parent the student lived with whose information would be relayed on the form. As of December, it will be up to the parent that provides the most financial support for the student whose information will be inputted into the form.
There are resources available for students that are struggling to understand the changes.The U.S. Department of Education has a “How To Prepare for the 2024–25 FAFSA®Form” webinar on Oct. 25, 2023. It is recommended for students who require additional support and are struggling to understand the entirety of the changes.
As per New York Times reporter Ann Carrns, this has been developing for a few years now.
“Congress approved changes to both the form and its formula in 2020, but the Education Department has taken several years to finish the update,” Carrns said. Due to the complexity of creating and simplifying the previous version, it took some time to perfect.
Something to ease up the stress as December approaches is creating a user ID. This ID will be required for the new 2024-25 form, according to the Federal Student Aid office. Also while completing the new form your Social Security number, full name and date of birth is needed.
When it comes to federal aid, many families assume they won’t qualify for financial aid and don’t concern themselves with applying. In fact, the majority of students receive some sort of financial aid through loans, grants or work studies, so an application is always worth the effort.
Previously, many students stated the lengthy and overly complicated application deters them from applying. Now, with the SAI, the process will be far simpler and quicker to complete.
While new changes to the system are still underway, preparations for the December release of the improved FAFSA form are a must. Even if someone doesn’t believe they will qualify, the FAFSA is worth exploring as most students receive some type of financial aid.
