Students attending college including summer classes and seniors in high school are annually expected to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, but this year it looks a little different.
FAFSA recently announced that due to Congress’ FAFSA Simplification Act the 2024-25 application, the new changes took effect on Dec. 31, 2023. The application will be open until June 30, 2024.
Pell grants:
Congress wanted to make the FAFSA process easier going forward, so they limited the number of questions asked and hoped to give out more Pell grants.
Pell grants are sums of money provided by the U.S. government to students whose FAFSA application has determined that they require exceptional financial assistance when paying for an undergraduate degree.
FAFSA looks at an applicant’s financial records and the tuition of their specific university to determine if they require a Pell grant.
Across the United States, 34% of students receive Pell grants, but this year it is estimated that roughly an additional 610,000 students will be eligible for Pell grants.
Expected Financial Contribution:
A crucial change FAFSA is implementing is that the Expected Financial Contribution will be calculated differently. EFC previously considered how many members of one’s family are in college from questions on the application, but going forward it will not. FAFSA will determine family size from tax information instead.
A new term being used on this year’s FAFSA form is “contributor.” To be considered a contributor, one must be the applicant, their legal or adoptive parents, spouse or parent’s spouse that allows consent for the IRS to transfer their federal tax information directly to the FAFSA.
Only the legal guardians of an applicant are considered contributors, even if other family members have financially contributed to an applicant’s upbringing.
Based on the answers to certain questions on the online form, FAFSA will tell applicants who to list as a contributor.
Website security:
FAFSA is also upping its website security for the 2024-25 school year. Applicants and contributors will only be able to access the FAFSA with a StudentAid.gov account. Contributors and applicants will need separate StudentAid.gov accounts.
If contributors don’t have a social security number, it is still possible to create the required StudentAid.gov account.
After applicants fill out the form, they will be emailed a “student aid report” that is not a financial offer but is designed to highlight what aid applicants may be eligible for. Actual financial aid offers will come from Marquette University based on when applicants apply.
Marquette is warning students and families that there may be technical issues in the early stages of the FAFSA application process.
“This means limited FAFSA availability during the upcoming weeks. It also may mean that users are put into a virtual waiting room as the department manages traffic flow,” Marquette posed in the Official Parent’s Group Facebook page.
The Office of Student Financial Aid said that if students wish to check the status of their application, they can through their StudentAid.gov account.
“Marquette University and all other schools will not receive the information until late January 2024. This will result in a delay of 2024-2025 financial aid offers.” the Office of Student Financial Aid said in an official email to students Dec. 22.
If students and families still have questions about their specific 2024-25 application process, they are encouraged to contact Marquette Central.
This story was written by Ellie Golko. She can be reached at [email protected].
