Current:Home > NewsThe FAFSA for the 2024-25 academic year is arriving. Some big changes may impact your student's financial aid.-LoTradeCoin
The FAFSA for the 2024-25 academic year is arriving. Some big changes may impact your student's financial aid.
View Date:2024-12-23 20:05:44
The college financial aid form filled out annually by millions of families is getting an overhaul. The new version, just days away from rolling out, will come with some major changes that could impact your child's financial aid for the 2024-25 academic year.
The Department of Education's Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, typically opens each fall for families to provide financial data to colleges their children are applying to or attending. It's a form that must be filled out annually so that universities can assess a family's most recent financial data and adjust their financial aid.
But this year, the FAFSA is rolling out two months late because of the overhaul. Instead of opening on the traditional date of about October 1, the Department of Education said it should be available by December 31.
The revamp's purpose is to simplify the form, which has the reputation of being something of a bear to fill out. But it will also include some new ways that aid is calculated, which could help some students get more generous packages. Other students, however, could get less aid from their colleges.
"It's a really big change to the way financial aid eligibility is calculated," noted Shannon Vasconcelos, senior director of college finance for Bright Horizons College Coach. "The motivation was to simplify it and make it easier for families to fill it out in order to make it more likely that students and families compete the form and are more likely to go college."
She added, "Some of the changes will benefit families, some of them may not benefit families."
Here's what to know.
What's simplified about the new FAFSA?
First, applicants will be able to directly retrieve their financial information with a tool that connects with the IRS and uploads data from their parents' most recent tax forms.
Secondly, the new FAFSA form will allow people to skip questions that aren't relevant to them, which means some families may only answer as few as 18 questions, compared with 103 potential questions on the prior year's form, according to the Department of Education.
Is financial aid calculated differently with the new form?
Yes, according to the Department of Education.
In previous years, the completed form determined an "Expected Family Contribution," which showed what share of tuition and fees the applicant's family was judged as able to cover, based on their financial profile. But after submitting the revamped 2024-25 application, students will instead receive a "Student Aid Index," or SAI, which is an index number based on the financial data provided by the student and their family.
The index can range from –1500 to 999999, the Education Department says. That may seem meaningless, but as education expert Mark Kantrowitz noted, "A higher SAI leads to less financial aid, while a lower SAI increases eligibility for need-based financial aid."
An applicant with zero or negative SAI will qualify for the maximum Federal Pell Grant, which stands at about $7,400 for the current academic year, Kantrowitz wrote. However, no colleges as of yet have said they plan to provide more financial aid or grants to students with a negative index score, he noted.
Will more low-income students get aid?
It's possible. The Education Department is forecasting that 1.5 million additional students will qualify for the maximum Pell Grant for the 2024-25 academic year. That would bring the total number of students who get the maximum Pell Grant to 5.2 million, it says.
Could the new form hurt my chances of getting financial aid?
Possibly, according to experts.
Families with more than one student in college could be dinged because of the new calculation, which gets rid of a discount for parents with multiple children in college during the same year. That could hit families with multiple college-age students, experts say.
"Essentially, they would determine the family could contribute $20,000 with one child in college, but if the next year a younger sibling was also in college, that $20,000 would become $10,000 a piece, accounting that they have to make tuition payments for two kids," Vasconcelos said. "They are eliminating that discounting for siblings."
Will the delayed rollout be an issue for financial aid?
The delay could add to the time crunch for students trying to decide where to attend college, experts say.
FAFSA information won't be provided to colleges until "late January," according to the Education Department. That's several weeks after most college applications are due, and there is some concern that the later date could delay colleges' financial aid offers to students.
"Colleges will be on a very, very compressed deadline," Vasconcelos said. "Students will likely receive their offers later than they usually would."
- In:
- College
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
TwitterveryGood! (5)
Related
- She's a trans actress and 'a warrior.' Now, this 'Emilia Pérez' star could make history.
- The Daily Money: Bailing on home insurance
- Trump Media's wild rollercoaster ride: Why volatile DJT stock is gaining steam
- Bridgerton Costars Bessie Carter and Sam Phillips Confirm Romance With PDA-Filled Outing
- Controversial comedian Shane Gillis announces his 'biggest tour yet'
- Lightning strikes, insurance claims are on the rise. See where your state ranks.
- Olympic track and field seeing dollar signs with splashy cash infusions into the sport
- A co-founder of the embattled venture capital firm Fearless Fund has stepped down as operating chief
- Gold is suddenly not so glittery after Trump’s White House victory
- Boy dies after being found unresponsive in shallow pool at New Jersey day camp: Officials
Ranking
- Denzel Washington Will Star in Black Panther 3 Before Retirement
- States fail to track abuses in foster care facilities housing thousands of children, US says
- Texas hiring Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle to replace David Pierce
- Totally Cool recalls over 60 ice cream products because they could contain listeria
- Dramatic video shows Phoenix police rescue, pull man from car submerged in pool: Watch
- World War II POW from Louisiana accounted for 82 years after Bataan Death March
- Gender-neutral baby names are on the rise. Here are the top 10 predictions for 2024.
- Alec Baldwin attorneys say FBI testing damaged gun that killed cinematographer; claim evidence destroyed
Recommendation
-
AIT Community Introduce
-
Longtime Predators GM David Poile, captain Shea Weber highlight 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame class
-
What Euro 2024 games are today? Wednesday features final day of group stage
-
Minnesota Lynx win 2024 WNBA Commissioner's Cup. Here's how much money the team gets.
-
Vogue Model Dynus Saxon Charged With Murder After Stabbing Attack
-
Bear euthanized after injuring worker at park concession stand in Tennessee
-
2024 Tour de France: How to watch, schedule, odds for cycling's top race
-
Georgia Supreme Court removes county probate judge over ethics charges