Additional FAFSA Updates
This setback follows the FAFSA Simplification Act, which represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024-2025 award year. The new version is meant to be shorter and easier and will make some low-income borrowers eligible for more financial aid. Major changes required by the law include:
Replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with the 学生援助 Index (SAI): Students and families will see a different measure of their ability to pay for college, and they’ll experience a change in the methodology used to determine aid. The new need analysis formula removes the number of family members in college from the calculation, allows a minimum SAI of -1500 and implements separate eligibility determination criteria for Federal Pell Grants.
Modifications to family definitions in FAFSA formulas: The metric by which a student’s family size is determined will change, aligning more with what was reported on the student’s/parents’ tax returns.
Expanding access to Federal Pell Grants: The Federal Pell Grant will be expanded to more students and eligibility will be linked to family size and the federal poverty level. Incarcerated students in federal and state penal facilities will regain the ability to receive a grant. Lifetime eligibility will be restored to students whose school closed while they were enrolled or if the school is found to have misled the student.
Streamlining the FAFSA form在可能的地方, the DOE will use data received directly from the IRS to calculate Federal Pell Grant eligibility and the SAI. Questions about Selective Service registration and drug convictions will be removed, and questions about applicants’ sex, 种族和民族, which have no effect on federal student aid eligibility, 将被添加.
6 Things You’ll Need to Fill Out the FAFSA® Form
- Username and Password (FSA ID)
- Social Security Number
- 2021 Income and Tax Records Information (Automatically transfer tax info with the IRS Data Retrieval Tool!)
- Records of Your Untaxed Income
- Records of Your Assets
- List of Schools You’re Interested In