FAFSA Simplification Changes for 2024-2025 

The FAFSA Simplification Act represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024–2025 award year. Normally, the FAFSA has been available in October for the following fall. Changes that are starting this year mean that the FAFSA for students attending in Fall 2024 will not be available until December 2023. The new FAFSA will feature fewer questions and retrieve tax information using a direct data exchange from the IRS instead of the previous IRS Data Retrieval Tool. 

FAFSA Completion Date 

  • The 2024-2025 FAFSA opens by Dec. 31, 2023.
  • If you will be a new freshman, submit a 2024-2025 FAFSA by Feb. 1, 2024, to receive an estimated Financial Aid Offer in February 2024. 
  • The Priority Deadline for all current St. Mary’s students to submit a 2024-2025 FAFSA remains March 1 . 

New Terminology

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is no longer used. 

The Student Aid Index (SAI) will take the place of the EFC. The new formula removes the number of family members in college from the calculation, allows a minimum SAI of -$1,500, and implements a separate eligibility determination criterion for the Federal Pell Grant. 

The new FAFSA introduces the term contributor. Contributors are individuals, such as a parent or spouse, who may be required to provide information on an applicant’s FAFSA depending on the applicant’s dependency or marital status. 

Applicants and other contributors must consent to the use of their Federal Tax Information (FTI) of their FAFSA or will risk not being awarded aid.  

FSA ID Information

Start planning for the 2024-2025 FAFSA by getting an FSA ID. An FSA ID is an account and password that gives you access to the Federal Student Aid’s online system and serves as your electronic signature.

  • Each contributor must have an FSA ID
  • To setup an FSA ID, each contributor will need the items below:
    • Social Security Number (SSN)
    • Email address for each person
    • Each individual must have their own, individual email
  • When can contributors sign up for an FSA ID
    • If you have an SSN, you can sign up now
    • Parents without an SSN can sign up by December 31, 2023
  • If you already have an FSA ID, there’s no need to sign up again

FAFSA Simplification Resources

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