The U.S. Department of Education announced on August 27, 2024, that the 2025-26 FAFSA will be available for students and families by December 1, 2024.
The FAFSA Simplification Act represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024–25 award year. This includes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, need analysis, and many policies and procedures for schools that participate in federal student aid programs.
The law will also affect every state that uses FAFSA data to award state grant aid and every school that participates in the federal student aid programs.
Major changes required by the law include the following:
1. Replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) With the Student Aid Index (SAI)
Starting with the 2024–25 award year, students and families will see a different measure of their ability to pay for college, and they’ll experience a change in the methodology used to determine aid. The new need analysis formula 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.
2. Modifications to Family Definitions in FAFSA® Formulas
Expect changes in how a student’s family size is determined aligning more with what was reported on the student/parents tax returns.
3. Expanding Access to Federal Pell Grants
- The FAFSA Simplification Act will expand the Federal Pell Grant to more students and will link eligibility to family size and the federal poverty level (starting with the 2024–25 award year).
- Incarcerated students in federal and state penal facilities will regain the ability to receive a Federal Pell Grant (starting with the 2023–24 award year).
- Federal Pell Grant 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).
4. Streamlining the FAFSA® Form
Where possible, the law mandates that we use data received directly from the IRS to calculate Federal Pell Grant eligibility and the SAI. This data exchange has been made possible by the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act (FUTURE Act), which we’ll implement alongside FAFSA simplification starting with the 2024–25 award year. The FAFSA Simplification Act also removes questions about Selective Service registration and drug convictions. It also adds questions about applicants’ sex, race, and ethnicity, which have no effect on federal student aid eligibility (starting with the 2023–24 award year).
Additional settings for Safari Browser.
