Each year, families seeking need-based financial aid to help pay for college fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Typically, this form opens on October 1st—right around fall application deadlines—but the FAFSA is undergoing some substantial changes for the 2024-2025 award year.
These changes are due to the FAFSA Simplification Act enacted in 2022 and will go into effect beginning in the 2024-2025 award year.
Overall, there will be fewer questions on the new, simplified FAFSA (the old FAFSA had more than 100 questions, and the new FAFSA will have less than 50), and the formulas that determine a family’s eligibility for aid have been updated for the first time in a long while. Other changes and adjustments throughout may impact your family’s experience of filling out the FAFSA as well as financial planning for college.
When filling out the FAFSA for next school year, here are 8 changes to have on your radar:
A Later Timeline
This year, the FAFSA is scheduled to open by December 31, 2023. This is expected to be a temporary change for this award year only, but the timing might impact this financial aid cycle.
College financial aid offices will receive the FAFSA much later this year than in previous years, so families might receive their financial aid award offers later than anticipated. Everyone should have their financial aid results in hand ahead of May 1, 2024, but families might not have a lot of time to compare all of their options before making a final decision.
Because the timeline is later than usual, families should plan to fill out the FAFSA as soon as it opens. Some needs-based aid may only be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Submitting your FAFSA quickly can increase your chances of qualifying for more funding.
Everyone Needs an FSA ID
An FSA ID is the username and password needed to log into studentaid.gov, where the FAFSA can be filled out. Previously, only the student and the parent filling out the FAFSA needed to register for an FSA ID before accessing the FAFSA.
Now, anyone who is required to provide information on the FAFSA form will need their own FSA ID to access and complete their portion of the form. The Student Aid website lists these contributors as “the student, the student's spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or the parent's spouse.”
Students will not be able to submit the FAFSA until every contributor has their FSA ID.
The EFC is now the SAI
Important FAFSA terminology and formulas are changing.
The Student Aid Index (SAI) is replacing Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This calculation determines the amount of financial aid a student can receive based on their household’s ability to afford the cost of college.
Like the EFC before it, the SAI is used to calculate need-based financial aid. A family’s need is determined by:
SCHOOL’S COST OF ATTENDANCE (COA) - STUDENT AID INDEX (SAI) = FINANCIAL NEED
The SAI and EFC are similar, but the SAI differs in key ways for many families. To learn more about the new SAI methodology, check out this guide from the Department of Education.
Students Can Send the FAFSA to 20 Colleges
Students can list more institutions, up to 20 schools, on their online FAFSA form. (Those filling out the paper PDF version of the form are still limited to 10.)
Do you need to apply to 20 schools? Most likely not! If you’re curious about how to build your college list or how many schools you should apply to, check out our blog post on Building a Balanced College List.
The FAFSA is now available in more languages
This is a huge win for accessibility! Previously, the FAFSA was only available in English and Spanish. Moving forward, families can access the FAFSA in the 11 most commonly spoken languages in the US.
Pell Grant Expansion
The Pell Grant is need-based financial aid determined by poverty guidelines, family size, and household income. Different from a loan, the Pell Grant does not need to be repaid.
Under the new FAFSA, more students will qualify for the Pell Grant depending on their family circumstances and their SAI.
If a student’s SAI exceeds the maximum Pell Grant award, they can still receive a partial grant depending on how their family size and household income relate to poverty guidelines. Additionally, the minimum possible SAI is now -$1,500 where the old EFC metric stopped at a minimum of $0.
Changes for families with more than one child IN college
Previously, families would receive a “sibling discount” in instances where more than one child attended college simultaneously. The new methodology no longer considers the number of family members attending college at the same time when determining financial aid.
This change means that families with multiple college students could receive less aid for the 2024-25 school year—even if those students are not filling out the FAFSA for the first time. However, schools can use their own institutional funds to adjust financial aid packages at their discretion to offset these new costs.
Changes for divorced families
The new FAFSA will use the income of the parent who provides the most financial support in divorced households. Previously, families reported the income of the parent the student lived with for most of the year.
Action Steps
While families wait for the FAFSA to open, here are some steps you can take to prepare.
Have a family conversation about financial fit - Make sure everyone is on the same page about your family’s budget for college to avoid unpleasant surprises later on. Here are some blog posts on financial fit to help inform your discussion:
Create your FSA ID - Everyone contributing to the FAFSA can set up their FSA ID account before the FAFSA even opens. It can take a few days for the FSA ID to process, so setting this up ahead of time will save you time once the FAFSA opens.
Fill out the CSS Profile (if necessary) - The CSS Profile is a separate financial aid application in addition to the FAFSA. More than 200 colleges require the CSS Profile to distribute institutional aid. Some colleges will need both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile to be considered for financial aid. Note: there is a fee for each college (the irony of paying to apply for financial aid is not lost on us).