FAFSA Simplification Act
*NEW* 2024-2025 FAFSA Update (FAFSA Simplification Act)
The FAFSA Simplification Act was enacted by Congress as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This law reduces the number of questions students will have to answer on the form, makes crucial changes to the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand Pell Grant eligibility and removes outdated restrictions to make federal student aid more accessible to all students.
For a full listing of changes for the 2023-2024 award year, please use this link.
Students are encouraged to login or create an account on studentaid.gov and be on the lookout for more information from Federal Student Aid. A communication from the Department of Education has been sent to students and families of 2023-2024 FAFSA filers as of 9/29/2023.
2024-2025 FAFSA Release – December 31, 2023
Due to the major changes, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid has indicated they will be ready to offer the simplified application for the upcoming cycle.
Federal Student Aid (FSA) on Wednesday announced that the 2024-25 FAFSA will go live by December 31, 2023, meeting the statutory requirement that the form must be available by January 1.
Along with the release date, FSA announced in its FAFSA road map that, while the application itself will be live, it will not begin processing FAFSA forms submitted online until January 2024. Institutions will begin receiving Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) by the end of January 2024.
FSA clarified in the call that once a student completes the online FAFSA, they will get a confirmation page that includes their estimated Student Aid Index (SAI) and Federal Pell Grant eligibility, along with a follow-up email. It will also include messaging about what to expect next.
FSA will begin processing paper FAFSAs in February 2024. Students will be able to make corrections once ISIRs are processed, while institutions will not be able to submit corrections until February, FSA states.
2024-2025 Federal Student Aid Estimator Tool
The Federal Student Aid Estimator provides students and families an estimate of their 2024-2025 federal financial aid using the new Student Aid Index (SAI).
Please note: This is not a FAFSA. Students will need to complete a 2024-2025 FAFSA when it becomes available after December 2023.
Federal Student Aid Webinars
Federal Student Aid has released a series of educational webinars related to recent changes in federal aid including the 2024-2025 FAFSA. You can view these videos on their YouTube channel here.
The webinar below shows a prototoype of the 2024-2025 FAFSA for dependent students.
2024-2025 FAFSA Roadmap for Students and Families
The 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) includes unprecedented changes to how students and families apply for federal student aid and how we determine eligibility, giving students a better and simpler experience with the FAFSA form. Improvements include a direct data exchange with the IRS for income data elements, a new “Who’s My Parent?” wizard, and a single consolidated portal for all FAFSA help resources.
To help ensure that students and families—and the partners critical to getting student aid dollars into the hands of students—are best prepared for a successful 2024–25 FAFSA cycle, Federal Student Aid has launched the Better FAFSA Better Future Roadmap, which includes the timeline for students and families below.
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Resource |
Delivery Date |
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Preparing for 2024–25 FAFSA Outreach Campaign A communications campaign, including videos, directed to students and families highlights what they should do to prepare for the new FAFSA form. The campaign also will provide key facts about what to expect from the new FAFSA process, including how to create an FSA ID, features of the 2024–25 FAFSA form, and Federal Pell Grant eligibility. |
Summer 2023 |
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Financial Aid Estimator and Preview Tools Online tools for students and families will provide an early estimate of their Student Aid Index and potential eligibility, as well as visual previews of the new FAFSA form. |
Summer through Fall 2023 |
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FAFSA Information Updates on StudentAid.gov Ongoing updates to FAFSA information and help resources will be posted to StudentAid.gov including FAFSA process implementation updates. |
Summer 2023 through Winter 2024 |
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FSA YouTube Channel Updates FSA will develop videos to engage students and families. Topics will include “Preparing for the FAFSA Form” and “2024-25 FAFSA FAQs”. |
November 2023 - February 2024 |
| 2024–25 FAFSA Form Available | By December 31, 2023 |
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FSA Social Media Outreach Ongoing multi-channel social media campaign to prepare students and families for the 2024-25 FAFSA. |
Beginning November 2023 |
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2024-25 ISIR and FAFSA Submission Summaries Available FSA will complete eligibility determination and begin transmitting Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) and FAFSA Submission Summaries to states, institutions, and applicants. |
January 2024 |
For Guidance Counselors & Advocates
According to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), beginning with the 2024-25 award year, the financial aid administrator (FAA) will no longer be able to file an original or a renewal FAFSA on the student's (or parent's) behalf. This means the FAA will no longer be able to file a FAFSA on the student's behalf using FAFSA on the Web, FAA Access, EDExpress, or any other method. There are no exceptions, not even for incarcerated students. According to a webinar held by FSA on July 13th, 2023, FAAs include guidance counselors, advocates, and third parties who assist students.
As in the past, the FAA can assist the student or parent when preparing to file the FAFSA (as a preparer), such as when completing the paper FAFSA, but the FAA cannot enter that data into FOTW, FAA Access, etc. for the student or parent; the paper FAFSA will need to be mailed to the Federal Processing System (FPS, formerly CPS). Also, as in the past, the FAA will still be able to submit corrections, updates, and adjustments to FAFSA data.
This restriction is due to requirements under the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act (FUTURE Act), which requires consent from each FAFSA contributor (student, spouse, parent as applicable) to obtain federal tax information (FTI) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as well as to protect the confidentiality of that FTI. See the May 12, 2023 Electronic Announcement (GENERAL-23-34), Access and Use of Federal Tax Information (FTI) for Federal Student Aid Programs Beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA Processing Cycle.
Counselors can find detailed information about the 2024-2025 FAFSA changes here.
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Resource |
Delivery Date |
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Financial Aid Estimator and Preview Tools Online tools for students and families will provide an early estimate of their Student Aid Index and potential eligibility, as well as visual previews of the 2024–25 FAFSA form. |
Summer 2023 |
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Counselor Training Webinars and train-the-trainer sessions, offered in collaboration with college access organizations, will provide detailed training to counselors about the key changes in the application process and eligibility determination. This training will help counselors better support students and families. |
Summer through Fall 2023 |
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Fact Sheets One-page resources for counselors about priority topics identified by college access professionals will include understanding the Student Aid Index, creating an FSA ID, assisting students with unusual circumstances, and use of federal tax information. |
Summer through Fall 2023 |
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2024-25 FAFSA Updates Feature This tool embedded into the Knowledge Center FAFSA Simplification Information page will provide regular updates on FAFSA development timing, webinars and release of additional resources. |
Beginning November 2023 |
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Federal Student Aid Training Conference Training conference topics will include a Federal Update, FAFSA Updates, Data Use and Considerations Under the FUTURE And FAFSA Simplification Act, Update on Prison Education Programs for Confined or Incarcerated Individuals, FAFSA Simplification: Application and Need Analysis, Calculating a Federal Pell Grant, and COD Updates. |
November 28 - December 1, 2023 |
| 2024–25 FAFSA Form Available | By December 31, 2023 |
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Monthly Webinars FSA will conduct webinars to address frequently asked questions. Details for upcoming webinars will be shared via the Partner Email and Social Media Posts. Please sign up for Partner Emails: Partner Email Registration | Federal Student Aid |
January – March 2024 |
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2024-25 ISIR and FAFSA Submission Summaries Available FSA will complete eligibility determination and begin transmitting Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) and FAFSA Submission Summaries to states, institutions, and applicants. |
January 2024 |
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2024-25 PDF FAFSA Processing and Institutional Corrections FSA will begin processing PDF (paper) FAFSA forms and producing output documents including Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) and FAFSA Submission Summaries. Institutions will also be able to submit corrections to ISIRs via the FAFSA Partner Portal or their financial aid management systems. FSA will provide regular status updates on the FAFSA Simplification Information Topics page on the Knowledge Center. |
Winter 2024 |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is committed to keeping students, families, and our community updated. As we receive more information from the Department of Education and Federal Student Aid, we will update this webpage.