Celebrate the New Year by completing and filing the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) – Gradually!
Every student and family who has already applied to enroll and is still considering or will be returning in September of 2024 must complete the application to receive need-based financial aid.
Whether it is a four-year public or private school, community college, or an accredited skills-based institution, filing the FAFSA Application is critical to awarding financial aid by any of the over 4000 eligible institutions.
However, the application, historically available on October 1, was delayed until December 31, 2023. The US Department of Education has been working to complete initiatives targeting efforts to simplify questions, improve the communication link between the IRS and the Department of Education, and increased eligibility for the Federal Pell Grants Program.
Other changes include:
- Eliminating the multiple student-in-college discount
- Introduction of new terminology: calculated results will be known as the Student Aid Index (SAI), and parent(s) a contributor
- In the case of divorced and separated families in the past, the parent responsible for completing the application was the person the student lived with 51% of the time during the year. Beginning with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the determining factor will be the parent who provides the student with the greatest financial support, regardless of living arrangements.
- There will be an increase in the income protection allowance, elimination of annual retirement contributions, and many untax income criteria.
- Students can send completed results to up to 20 colleges and universities simultaneously.
While students and parents await the opening of the FAFSA window, each should register and obtain their FSA ID and password. It’s the golden ticket to launching the application and e-signing at the end. Once received, save it in a secure location, as it will be needed to complete annual FAFSAs and access the studentaid.gov website.
One final note: The 2024-2025 FAFSA will be rolling out on December 31, 2023, describing it as a soft launch. The US Department of Education recognizes families’ urgency but raises cautionary concerns that the system may experience delays and minor bugs. DOE will not send FAFSA results to colleges and universities until the end of January, and they are encouraging families not to rush to complete the application once the window opens.
Every student and family who has already applied is still considering or will be returning in September of 2024, regardless of income, needs to complete the application to receive need-based financial aid or discuss extenuating circumstances that may prevent a student from attending a post-secondary institution.
Go to wwww.studentaid.gov to learn more about registering for your FSA ID and more information on completing the FAFSA.