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Big changes are coming to the FAFSA forms and student eligibility that could affect your aid within your school career. With the FAFSA Simplification Act passed in 2020, it aims to make FAFSA easy, and comprehendible. It also aims to reduce the number of questions on the application which makes Pell Grants and other federal aid more accessible for new and returning students.
FAFSA will become much shorter and user friendly. The previous FAFSA form had over one-hundred questions, it’s now projected to decrease to less than half that size.
There will no longer be Extended Family Contribution (EFC), instead it’ll be called Student Aid Index (SAI). According to an article on Kiplinger, “the EFC left many confused, not knowing how much they owed or confused on how much aid they would receive. With the (SAI) the hope is to clear that of the number given is not the amount that families should or must pay, but rather a number used to assess their financial need.”
With the introduction of SAI, Pell Grant Eligibility will be based on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and SAI. Students will be able to estimate their eligibility for the grant before they complete the FAFSA. Stated in an article on Kiplinger, “additional amendments include a reduction in the award amount for students who are not enrolled full time, meaning students enrolled less-than-half time will not be eligible to receive the grant, and establishment of a minimum award amount for full-time enrollment, which is $750 for the 2023-24 award year.”
FAFSA will no longer give discounts to families with more than one child enrolled in college at the same time. According to an article on USA Today, “Students with siblings in college will… stand to lose thousands of dollars in financial aid. This change will reduce financial eligibility for families with more than one student enrolled in college at the same time.”
The FAFSA application will be translated into more languages. According to an article on NerdWallet, “FAFSA simplification aims to make the application easier for more students and their parents by making the new form available in eleven languages.”
Students will have income allowance protection. This change will raise the parent’s and the student’s income protection allowance. As stated in an article on Kiplinger, “the income allowance for students for the students for the 2023-24 school years is $7,040 for dependent students, and the FSA will increase it to $9,410. This means that a student can earn up to this amount and not jeopardize eligibility… the amount that a student will be expected to contribute toward their college expenses will be reduced, and their financial aid eligibility will increase.”
According to Studentaid.gov. there are many changes required by law:
“Replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) With the Student Aid Index (SAI):
Starting with the 2024-25 award year, students and families will see a different measure of their ability to pay for college, and they’ll experience a change in methodology used to determine aid.
Modifications to Family Definitions in FAFSA Formulas:
Expected changes in how a student’s family size is determined by aligning more with what was reported on the student/parent’s tax returns.
Extending Access to Federal Pell Grants:
- The FAFSA Simplification Act will expand the Federal Pell Grant to more students and will link eligibility to family size and the federal poverty level.
- Incarcerated students in federal and state penal facilities will regain the ability to receive a Federal Grant. FAFSA has already removed questions about drug-related convictions; students with such charges are now eligible to receive Pell Grants.
- 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.”
Federal Student Aid will be holding a virtual bootcamp on October 25th and October 26th, you can register for the boot camp on their website. https://hootbio.com/federalstudentaid
Many of these changes to FAFSA could affect your aid in the upcoming year. Be sure to stay up to date on the changes to the FAFSA form and other modifications, to better prepare for submitting forms in the future. Some modifications are already in effect. The new FAFSA will be available in December of 2023 for the 2024-2025 academic year. You can still submit the 2023-2024 FAFSA until June 30th, 2024.
