New FAFSA expands eligibility and ease of use
The 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid has undergone some major changes.
Most of these changes are extensive and could have an effect on students applying for financial aid.
To start with, students and their families will now see their financial aid eligibility measured in a different way; the previous measure, the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), will now be replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI).
The SAI is a new analysis formula that uses different factors to determine eligibility. The factors include: removing the number of family members attending college from the calculation; allowing for a negative SAI to increase likelihood of more federal/state funding; and overhauling the criteria for Federal Pell Grant eligibility so more students qualify for it.
The SAI is a formula-based index that ranges from –1500 to 999999. Where an applicant’s SAI falls helps their school determine how much financial support an applicant would need. A negative SAI would mean a higher financial need. For example, an SAI of –1500 means a student qualifies for a maximum Pell Grant award if student meets eligibility.
The SAI is not a dollar amount of aid one receives nor is it what someone’s family is expected to provide, it is an index number used by financial aid professionals when making an aid offer.
“I know that some students that did not previously qualify for financial aid, now qualify,” said Financial Aid Director Joseph Ruiz. “I am also aware of some students that qualified for financial aid last year, are not eligible any longer because of the changes to FAFSA.”
The other significant changes include students and parents now being required to have an FSA ID to fill out the form, even parents without a Social Security number.
An FSA ID (account username and password) allows individuals to access Federal Student Aid websites and complete the FAFSA form online. To create an FSA ID, students and contributors (parents or spouses) simply need to create an account at studentaid.gov, fill out the proper information including an SSN, date of birth, full name, and create a memorable username and password. Applicants must also complete challenge questions to retrieve any account information if they forget it.
If a contributor doesn’t have an SSN, they still need to create an account and request a case number to verify their identity. They should explicitly state, “I need to verify my identity. Please send me my case number.” After receiving their number, they must fill out an Attestation and Validation of Identity Form, submit the form and await confirmation.
For students with separated or divorced parents, the parent that provides the most financial support must be included in the new FAFSA. This will align with the previous requirement of including the custodial parent – the parent living with the student – for many students. Lastly, there are a few new terms such as “contributor” – anyone who’s asked to provide information on the FAFSA such as a parent or student spouse – as well as “consent,” where each contributor will need to consent to their information being included in the new FAFSA.
The main goal behind these changes is to make it easier to apply for Federal Student Aid, to make said aid more transparent and predictable, and to amend the Federal Pell Grant program so students could receive Pell Grants easier. However, while the changes to the FAFSA were designed to make it easier for students to qualify for financial aid, some students feel these changes have made the application process more difficult than it was before.
“It’s more difficult, more time-consuming versus the original which was more one and done,” said Ariel Saenz, a student at Del Mar describing her experience with the new FAFSA compared to the previous one.
As for why these changes have been implemented, it is the result of the FAFSA Simplification Act, which was signed into law in 2020. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the act was signed into law to further amend the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Nevertheless, the way these changes affect financial aid students cannot be truly seen until the 2024-2025 academic year according to Ruiz.
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