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FAFSA Simplification

FAFSA Simplification Act

Due to the passing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act on December 27, 2020, as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, the FAFSA changed beginning with the 2024-2025 aid year. The law updated the FAFSA process to expand access to Federal Student Aid and provide a new FAFSA experience for students and families.

Benefits for Students and Families

  • Updated Need Analysis Formula
    • Beginning in the 2024-25 award year, the Student Aid Index (SAI) replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on the FAFSA form. The SAI is an evaluation of the financial resources that may be available to contribute toward a student’s education expenses. Among the many changes, the need analysis formula removed 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.
  • Expanded Access to Federal Student Aid
    • The FAFSA Simplification Act extends Federal Pell Grants to more students and links eligibility to family size and the federal poverty level. The law also repeals the lifetime limit on the period for which a borrower can receive subsidized loans of up to 150% of program length (often referred to as Subsidized Usage Limit Applies).
  • Streamlined FAFSA Form
    • The FAFSA Simplification Act mandates that where possible, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) use federal tax information received directly from the IRS to calculate a student’s Pell Grant eligibility and SAI. This data exchange was made possible by the FUTURE Act, which ED will implement alongside the FAFSA Simplification Act. The law also removes questions about Selective Service registration and drug convictions from the FAFSA form and adds questions about the applicant’s gender, race, and ethnicity. Additionally, students who are homeless, orphans, former foster youth, or have unusual circumstances that prevent them from providing parent information on the FAFSA form, will benefit from simplified questions and processes that more efficiently determine their independent status.

Changes for Student and Contributors

“Contributor” is a new term introduced on the 2024–25 FAFSA form. A contributor refers to anyone who is required to provide their information and signature on the FAFSA form, as well as consent and approval to have their Federal Tax information transferred directly into the form via direct data exchange with the IRS. Being a contributor does not imply responsibility for the student’s college costs.

A contributor may include the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, and/or the parent’s spouse (stepparent). If a student’s parents are divorced or separated, the contributing parent(s) is the parent (and their spouse, if remarried) 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.  Students will need the contributor’s name, date of birth, Social Security Number (SSN), and email address to invite them to complete the required portion of the FAFSA.  Everyone contributing to the FAFSA form online must have their own StudentAid.gov account.

All students and contributors must provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred directly into the FAFSA form via direct data exchange with the IRS. This federal tax information will be used to determine the student’s eligibility for Federal Student Aid. If a student or required contributor doesn’t provide consent and approval, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid.

Prepare for the FAFSA

Before you complete the FAFSA you should prepare by doing the following:

  • Create an FSA ID on the Federal Student Aid website and assist contributors, such as your parent(s) or spouse, in creating an FSA ID.
    • 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.
  • Complete the FAFSA
    • The simplification of the FAFSA filing experience for students and their families has truly been the goal and we believe this has been achieved-give it a try!

The Status of your FAFSA Application

We understand many students will want to know the status of their FAFSA form. Applicants may check the status of their 2024-25 FAFSA form on StudentAid.gov. To check the status, applicants should do the following:

  1. Log in using their account username and password (FSAID).
  2. Navigate to their account Dashboard.
  3. Select the appropriate aid year application from the “My Activity” page.

The application status will be one of the following:

Draft: Your selection of the FAFSA form is incomplete.

In Progress: You provided your consent, approval, and signature to your section of the FAFSA form has not been submitted yet.

In Review: You have submitted your form and your application is still processing.

Processed: Your application was processed successfully. No further action is needed.

Action Required: Your application requires further action from you or your contributor(s). In some cases, you may need to contact your college or career/trade school to resolve the issue.

Closed: Your FAFSA form was never submitted and can no longer be submitted because the federal FAFSA deadline passed.

This is your status with the department of education. Once MPTC receives your application, you will be notified via email. See the time line below for details.

Resources

What is the FAFSA Simplification Act? | Federal Student Aid

Federal Student Aid Estimator- Prospective applicants can also use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to get an early estimate of what their federal student aid could be after submitting the new FAFSA form.

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