New changes to FAFSA for 2024-25 school year

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, has new changes that will affect students and their parents applying for aid for the 2024-25 school year.

These changes are meant to make the application process easier to understand for families and were prompted by the FAFSA Simplification Act.

According to the Department of Education, major changes required by the Act include:

  • New need analysis formula: The new formula replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with the Student Aid Index (SAI), removes the number of family members in college from the calculation, allows a minimum SAI of -1500, and implements separate eligibility determination criteria for Federal Pell Grants.
  • Modifications to definition of family in FAFSA formulas: The modifications change how a student’s family size is determined, aligning more with what is reported on tax returns from the student and parents.
  • Expansion of access to Federal Pell Grants: Eligibility will be now linked to family size and the federal poverty level; incarcerated students in federal and state facilities will again be able to receive Pell Grants; 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, starting with the 2023-24 award year.
  • New streamlined FAFSA form: More applicants will be able to have their financial information transferred directly from the IRS; questions about Selective Service registration and drug convictions will be removed; questions about the applicants' sex, race and ethnicity will be added, but these will have no effect on eligibility.

Students will also be able to add 20 colleges to their FAFSA, up from 10 in previous years.

The new changes are now excepted to roll out in December when the 2024-25 form is available.

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The FAFSA Simplification Act was passed and amended as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2021 and 2022. The Act represents a "significant overhaul" of the federal student aid award processes and systems starting with the 2024-25 school year, says the Department of Education.

To learn more and see all state FAFSA deadlines, click here.

FOX 7 Austin reported from Austin, Texas.