The 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is now available. Financial Aid is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage you to complete your FAFSA as soon as possible to receive maximum consideration for financial aid. You may file your 2024-2025 FAFSA through June 30, 2025.

The changes to the FAFSA form for the 2024–25 aid year include a more streamlined application process and expanded eligibility for federal student aid. The U.S. Department of Education estimates we should see an increase to the number of students eligible to receive the Federal Pell Grant.


All contributors will need an FSA ID at studentaid.gov

Beginning with the 2024–25 FAFSA, all individuals providing information on the FAFSA form (including parents), are called "contributors," and will need to create an FSA ID. All contributors should complete this step as soon as possible.


Plan to file your 2024–25 FAFSA as soon as you can

The 2024–25 FAFSA filing deadline for maximum financial aid consideration was February 15, 2024. Financial Aid is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage you to complete your FAFSA as soon as possible to receive maximum consideration for financial aid. You may file your 2024-2025 FAFSA through June 30, 2025.

The Department of Education has announced a new resource for students and their families, called Pro Tips for the 2024–25 FAFSA. This resource gives FAFSA applicants and contributors tips to complete and submit the 2024–25 FAFSA successfully.


2024–25 FAFSA Submission Timeline

  • After you submit: You will receive an email confirming your FAFSA form was received by the FAFSA Processing System. This will be the date your FAFSA is considered complete, even though we will not receive your FAFSA results until mid-March.
  • Late-January: You may check the status of your FAFSA form on studentaid.gov.
  • Mid-March: Colleges and universities started to receive 2024–25 FAFSA results. We will be unable to answer specific questions about your aid eligibility until AFTER we receive your results.
  • Early-April: We will begin to let students know if we have received their 2024–25 FAFSA, or if there are corrections that need to be made on StudentAid.gov.
  • First half of April: StudentAid.gov will make available the process for students to make updates or corrections to their FAFSA form. Making updates or corrections to your FAFSA will NOT change the date your FAFSA is considered complete. The date of your submission will be when you initially submitted a signed FAFSA form.

Due to the delayed timing of the FAFSA, mid-to-late April 2024 is the earliest we anticipate we can begin sending 2024–25 Financial Aid Offers. We are committed to the success of our students and are working hard to help families adjust to the new federal financial aid process. 


What's changing on the 2024–25 FAFSA?

As we learn more about the possible impacts of the changes noted below, we will provide guidance on next steps.

Contributors

A contributor refers to anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FAFSA, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent’s spouse. Being a contributor does not imply responsibility for the student’s college costs.

You, the student, will need the contributor’s name, date of birth, email address, and Social Security Number (SSN) OR mailing address to invite them to complete their required portion of your FAFSA.

Contributors will need to provide personal and financial information on their section of your FAFSA. They will only be able to see and complete their own specific sections of your FAFSA.

All Contributors must provide consent to have their federal tax information (FTI) transferred directly from the IRS to the FAFSA. If consent is not provided by all parties, you will not be eligible for federal financial aid. In previous years, transferring IRS data was optional; moving forward, it’s required.

Which Parent to Use in
Divorced/Separated Situations

If your parents are divorced or separated, the contributing parent(s) is the parent (and their spouse, if remarried) who provided the greater portion of your financial support during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA.

It will no longer default to the parent you primarily lived with during the past 12 months.

Family Size and
Number in College

The number of people in your family size will be automatically pulled in from your Federal Tax Information (FTI).

The number of family members in college will still be asked on the FAFSA, but it will be excluded from the FAFSA financial need calculation.

Assets

Child Support Received
The annual amount of child support received (i.e. in the last complete calendar year) should be included in the assets you report.

Small Business and Farm Assets
The net worth of any small business and/or farm must be included on the FAFSA. Remember, net worth = asset value minus asset debt.

Education Savings Accounts (i.e. 529 Plans)
For dependent students, these accounts will only be counted as a parental asset if the account is designated for the student on the FAFSA.

Terminology

EFC is changing to SAI
The final figure calculated by the FAFSA will no longer be called the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Rather, it will be called the Student Aid Index (SAI) to more accurately describe how that number is used to determine financial aid eligibility. And, instead of a scale of 0 to 999,999, the SAI could be a negative number and the new scale is from -1,500 to 999,999.

Student Aid Report (SAR) is changing to FAFSA Submission Summary
Similarly, the Student Aid Report (SAR) which is the confirmation of what’s been submitted will now be referred to as the FAFSA Submission Summary. 

Unusual Circumstances

Dependent students who indicate that they have unusual circumstances that prevent them from providing parent data will no longer receive a rejected FASFA but will instead have their application processed with a provisional independent status, a provisional SAI, and an estimate of federal student aid eligibility.

If you are a student in this situation, you will not be eligible for federal financial aid until you have provided additional documentation to our office.


What's not changing 2024–25 FAFSA?
 

Basic Eligibility

 The FAFSA will continue to be made available on an annual basis for federal financial aid consideration and students must meet the eligibility requirements. 

Dependency Status

 The requirement that determines whether or not you, the student, are required to provide parent information on your FAFSA will remain the same. The FAFSA includes a series of questions and you must be able to answer ‘Yes’ to at least one question to be considered independent for financial aid purposes. Learn more about determining dependency status. 

Prior-Prior Year Tax Data

The FAFSA will use prior-prior tax data, which could be up to two years old.

If you or your family have experienced significant changes in income or have expenses that are not reflected on the FAFSA, your special circumstances may be eligible for a professional judgment. Learn more about Changes in Financial Circumstances.


Stay Informed

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