The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act passed on December 27, 2020, as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
The 2024-2025 FAFSA is used to determine your financial aid eligibility for the Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025 terms.
For Indiana residents: The Indiana state aid deadline remains as April 15, 2024 for filing the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
2024-2025 FAFSA Changes
The FAFSA is introducing the new term “Contributor”, which refers to anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FAFSA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent’s spouse. Being a contributor does not imply responsibility for the student's college costs.
- Students will need each contributor’s name, date of birth, mailing address, and email address to invite them to complete the required portion of the FAFSA.
- If your parents are divorced or separated, the contributing parent is the parent who provided the greater portion of your financial support during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA. It is not automatically the parent you primarily lived with during the past 12 months. If the contributing parent is remarried, the student will report the parent and step-parent's information on the FAFSA.
- All Contributors–student, student's spouse (if married), and student's parents(s) (if a dependent student)–must provide consent to have tax data transferred directly from the IRS to the FAFSA. If consent is not provided by all contributors, the student will not be eligible for federal financial aid. In previous years, transferring IRS data was optional. It is now required.
- All contributors are required to create an FSA ID on the Federal Student Aid website due to new consent requirements. This includes contributors, such as a spouse or a parent(s). The FSA ID username and password created by each contributor will then be verified by the Department of Education. This process will take up to 2-3 days to complete and must be done before starting the FAFSA.
- 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.
- With the FSA ID, you can fill out the FAFSA when it’s available, sign your Master Promissory Note (MPN), apply for repayment plans, complete loan counseling, and use the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Help Tool.
- The FAFSA result, formerly known as the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), will now be referred to as the Student Aid Index (SAI).
- Small businesses and family farms are now considered assets. However, we anticipate more details on this from the Department of Education in the coming months.
- The number of family members in college will still be asked on the FAFSA, but it will be excluded from the federal and state financial aid calculation.
- The Student Aid Report (SAR) will now be referred to as the FAFSA Submission Summary. This is the summary submission document you receive after completing the FAFSA.
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