Your Dollars & Sense: Key changes to the 2024-2025 FAFSA form
NORTH TEXAS — In just a few days, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, or the FAFSA, will open up to prospective college students.
Students and their families fill out the FAFSA so the federal government can determine how much financial aid they are eligible for.
In the past, this form has been released in October. The later release date is due to a series of changes that are being made to the form that are a result of the FAFSA Simplification Act that was passed in 2020.
The FAFSA Simplification Act is a redesign to the system meant to make the process more straightforward. Here are a few key changes that you need to be aware of.
The form is shorter
There used to be as many as 108 questions on the form. In the new version, applicants will be able to skip as many as 26 questions and could have as few as 18 to answer.
This used to be a big sticking point with former Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander (R), who introduced the FAFSA Simplification Act. He used to carry a FAFSA application as a prop to illustrate his point that the application was too long and complicated.
Changes to siblings perk
Under the new FAFSA form, students with siblings may lose out on money they would have been awarded previously.
In past years, if families had more than one child enrolled in college at the same time, they were eligible for more financial aid. Under new calculations, that benefit goes away
More students will qualify for Pell Grants
Students with siblings may be getting less money, but the new formula is expected to give hundreds of thousands of additional students Pell Grant awards.
These are given to low-income students who are most in need. And because they're grants, not loans, they don't need to be paid back.
New calculations for Pell Grants will take into account family size and federal poverty guidelines. The Department of Education estimates these changes mean an additional 50,000 students from Texas will qualify.
Students can send FAFSA to more schools
In previous years, students could automatically send their FAFSA forms to 10 schools. This year that number has doubled to 20.
Schools use the FAFSA to calculate financial aid packages.
All contributors need to register for accounts
Beginning with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, all contributors will need to register for accounts at StudentAid.gov.
Contributors are anyone required to provide information, consent and approval on a FAFSA form. This can include parents or a spouse.
Click here to learn more about the key FAFSA changes.
Every week, CBS News Texas anchor Keith Russell tackles charitable donations in Your Dollars & Sense. Watch it every Wednesday on CBS News Texas at 7 p.m. on TXA 21.
Here are some topics Keith has recently covered:
