A possibly user-friendly version of the College Financial Aid Form, known as FAFSA, is highly anticipated and will be released in the 2024-25 academic year.
The new form is intended to simplify the college aid application process, as we know that people who complete FAFSA (which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid) are more likely to attend college. Masu. In addition to updating forms, the federal government is expanding eligibility for federal aid with the largest overhaul in decades.
However, some families with more than one child attending college at the same time may be eligible for less assistance. This is because the revision also fine-tuned the aid system that underlies the system, effectively abolishing the “sibling discount.”
“There are winners and losers,” says Philip Levine, an economics professor at Wellesley College and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution who co-authored the report on future change.
College students must submit a form each year to receive financial aid from the federal government. Many states and colleges also have their own aid under the federal format. FAFSA collects detailed financial information about income and assets from students and their parents and serves as a gateway for higher education grants, scholarships and loans. Congress approved changes to both the form and its formula in 2020, but it took the Education Department several years to complete the update.
Some changes, such as further shielding family income from aid calculations, tend to increase eligibility for financial assistance. Morary Keller, senior director of strategic programming for the National College Reach Network, said more students will be eligible for federal need-based Pell grants, and students who previously received partial grants will also receive more. said they were eligible to receive subsidies for
But the update also removed the de facto discount for college-aged families with multiple children. Levine said about a third of college students have siblings who are also enrolled. For some families with multiple college students, the change in aid eligibility is significant and may be unexpected, especially for currently enrolled students whose aid packages will change next academic year. , he said.
“Prices are about to go up significantly, but they don’t know it,” Levine said. His report includes an online tool families can use to estimate how their assistance will be affected.
One rationale for this change is that funding a college education currently requires long-term savings and borrowing, something most people cannot afford with their current income. So while it’s unfair to give vacations to families with twins or children of similar age who attend college at the same time, it’s unfair not to do so for those whose children live far apart.
Mr. Levine said it was alarming that the new rules would come into effect with little warning to students and their parents. “The problem is it’s been flipped,” he said, giving some current students little time to prepare for potentially expensive out-of-pocket costs. Some colleges may be able to adjust financial aid packages to compensate, but that’s up to college finances.
Financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz said the elimination of sibling discounts would hit middle- and high-income students the most.
Karen McCarthy, vice president for public policy and federal relations at the National Student Association, said college student numbers are no longer a federal official factor, but FAFSA still asks about the number of families enrolled in colleges. Ta. Financial Aid Administrator. The university may be able to consider that information and make adjustments under a process known as “professional judgment.”
If students are missing the aid package they received from the university, “we encourage them to contact the financial aid office to see what they can do,” McCarthy said.
Other expected changes on the form include the confusing “Expected Family Contributions,” a figure estimating the amount families may have to pay, a kind of guideline for the amount of financial assistance students will pay. is replaced by the “Student Aid Index”. I am eligible.
The federal government says the number of questions on the form has dropped significantly, but McCarthy said the number of questions that must be answered will vary depending on the situation. Still, she said, “I think it will be an easier process for the family.”
For example, the transfer of federal income tax forms from the IRS to the application should be streamlined and seamless after the user approves the transfer, rather than requiring several cumbersome steps, McCarthy said. Stated.
Here are some questions and answers about the new form.
When will the new FAFSA be available for submission?
In recent years, the form has been available online on October 1, but this year it won’t be available until a yet-to-be-specified December date, the Federal Office of Student Services said. This will reduce the amount of time many students have to fill out forms to meet the state’s priority filing deadlines that begin early in the new year. (Many states distribute aid on a first-come, first-served basis, so applying early increases your chances of receiving aid.)
The March deadline is the most common, Dustin Weeden, vice president of the State Association of Higher Education Executive Officers, said in an email. Some states have stuck to next year’s deadlines, especially if the date falls in the second half of the month, while others, such as California and Tennessee, have pushed deadlines to April.
Weeden said Texas is adjusting a priority deadline of January 15 for next year.
Students should watch out for state campaigns this fall warning that forms will be released later than usual and some changes will be made, he said. “These relief efforts are a top priority for the state this fall,” he added.
Is there anything I can do now to prepare for the new form?
You will need your Federal Student Aid ID, which consists of a username and password, to complete the form. If you don’t have an ID yet, create one now to save time when new forms are published. Apply for an ID online. You will need your social security number, name, and date of birth. (Currently, FAFSA can be filled out online and mailed to the signature page without an ID, Keller said. However, according to the Federal Student Aid Administration website, new forms for 2024-25 will require a user ID is required.)
Kantrowitz said students should apply to multiple colleges, including public colleges in the state, to ensure they get admission to colleges that can afford it.
Some competitive private schools use another format known as CSS Profiles to give financial aid to their institutions. It is unclear whether this form changes the approach to helping siblings. The university committee that administers the form did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Will these changes affect aid for the upcoming school year?
no. Financial aid packages for academic years beginning this month or September are based on his 2023-24 form, which became available in October 2022.
This article was originally published on new york times.
