With the release of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) comes new changes due to the FAFSA Simplification Act, a law that streamlines the financial aid process for students and families.
On January 31, FCAN hosted a webinar to inform and provide support for Florida high school counselors on these changes. The training was a collaboration between FCAN and the Florida Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (FASFAA). Karemah Manselle, Interim Director for the Office of Student Financial Assistance at the University of Central Florida, served as guest presenter.
Changes for 2024-25 Award Year
Students still need to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID to log in to their StudentAid.gov account. However, the FAFSA is now a role-based form. This means dependent students and contributors will see questions related to their role with the form. A contributor may include the student’s parents, the spouse of the student’s parent, or student’s spouse who’s required to provide information on the FAFSA form. The student will invite the contributor to provide their information on the FAFSA. A parent who provides the most financial support is considered the contributing parent.
Direct Data Exchange (DDX) will be used with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to pull in tax information. In terms of the federal aid calculations, the “number of students in college” will no longer be considered. Student housing information will no longer be provided to the postsecondary institution.
Submission Process
Once the student creates their FSA ID, they can log in to start their FAFSA. The student will need to invite the contributor by providing the contributor’s name, date of birth, Social Security number, and email address. The contributor will then receive an email that outlines the next steps on how to complete their portion of the student’s FAFSA. All contributors must consent for the FAFSA to be submitted which includes allowing the IRS to obtain federal tax information for the form. For the 2024-25 FAFSA, 2022 income will be used.
What’s Next
After the FAFSA is submitted, students should check their email to ensure they don’t miss any follow up communication related to their FAFSA. It is expected that schools will begin to receive Institutional Student Information Records (ISIR) sometime in March. ISIRs allow schools to prepare a financial aid award offer based on the information provided on the FAFSA. Students will be able to make corrections to their FAFSA around March as well.
For the 2025-2026 FAFSA award year, the FAFSA is expected to return to an October release date.
Show Notes:
To learn more about the financial aid process, access these resources:
- FAFSA Walkthrough for Students Webinar (2/20/24)
- FSA Handout: Is My Parent A Contributor
- FSA Handout: How To Create a FSA ID
- NASFAA Handout: FSA ID for Individuals Without a SSN Handout
- FCAN Webinar: Key Takeaways from The Better FAFSA Overview (9/2023)
- FCAN’s FAFSA toolkit
- Webinar slides and recording
