Changes to FAFSA: Things to know about the new FAFSA for 2024-25
What is the FAFSA?
The FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Whatever postsecondary options you’re thinking about, whether it’s career training, work-based learning credits, or college degrees, there’s good chance that filling out the FAFSA can help you pay for it.
Bigger Picture: FAFSA completion rates offer policymakers and researchers a way to measure college and career preparation among high school students. Filings fell during the pandemic, and more states are pushing policies designed to increase completion rates. There are a lot of barriers to FAFSA completion and not completing it can be momentum-killer for students who are on the fence about enrolling in college, a trade school, or job-based training programs. In Rhode Island, where I live, FAFSA completion is one of three success metrics being measured as part of the governor’s Learn365 initiative.
(Update: An astute reader rightly raised a question about how I summarized the FAFSA completion/college enrollment correlation in a previous version of this bullet point. It fell into a classic statistics folly of overemphasizing two correlative data points).
Why is the FAFSA delayed in 2023?
In typical years, the FAFSA is available on Oct. 1. This year, the FAFSA is delayed until at some point in December 2023. When it becomes available, the process will be a lot different. The changes are the result of the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act passed by Congress back in 2020, which sought to simplify and shorten the application process. In addition, changes to the federal aid formula will increase the number of students who are eligible for federal aid programs like the Pell Grant.
For years, former Sen. Lamar Alexander complained that the FAFSA was too long and brought along reams of paper filled with 100+ questions as evidence. In 2020, with bipartisan support from Democrats including Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, Alexander was finally able to get the FAFSA Simplification Act passed.
What are some of the big changes?
Having spent much of the past year writing about financial aid, the FAFSA, and FAFSA simplification, I have learned that there are tons and tons of changes – some small, others big – that are being made to the FAFSA. Nearly everyone agrees that changes were overdue. Many college access professionals, guidance counselors, and financial aid experts are bracing for a bumping implementation. Here are some of the biggest changes that I am highlighting when speaking to parents, students and schools about the changes.
Follow Understanding FAFSA’s New FAFSA page for regular updates, strategies, and resources related to the impact of changes from the new FAFSA.
It will be easier and faster: The new form will have 36 questions, down from 108. It should be easier to fill out, and take less time.
More students will get access to Pell Grants: Thanks to a revamped financial aid formula, a lot more students are expected to become eligible for federal Pell Grants. The exact number won’t really be known until after students start filing, but the most optimistic estimates say upwards of 1 million more students nationally will be eligible for the maximum Pell award ($7,395 in old FAFSA’s last year) and at least 100k more students for the minimum award ($750). These totals are set by Congress every year, so they are subject to change. We don’t yet know what they’ll be under the new FAFSA.
EFC (Expected Family Contribution) will now be called SAI (Student Aid Index): This is a technical term, but it’s an important one. Your SAI number will be used to determine how much aid you’re eligible for. Visit RISLA’s SAI Calculator to understand how it works.
Students will be able to list 20 schools versus just 10. That seems like a lot of schools, but the number of schools that students want to apply to has been increasing, so this change will at least accommodate this trend.
The ‘Sibling Discount’ is going away: If you have more than one student in college right now, you may see a reduction in federal aid. Colleges may try to make up the difference with scholarships from their own funds, but this will vary by school. Understanding FAFSA’s recent blog post on the sibling discount explains why the change is happening and what families with more than one student in college can do to protect their aid.
FAFSA Contributors: The term FAFSA Contributors is another one that parents and students should become more familiar with. Students and parents will need to create and use their own FSA IDs. They will have their own sections to fill out on the FAFSA as well. Students and parents will need to communicate effectively with one another and work together!
