The FAFSA Simplification Act, passed by Congress in 2020, includes some of the biggest changes to federal student aid in decades. The passing of this act means the FAFSA is changing for the 2024-2025 aid year, which determines your financial aid eligibility for the Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025 semesters.
You can expect the following changes:
- the application will be streamlined, making it faster and easier to complete
- eligibility for federal student aid will be expanded to more students
- new terminology will be added to the FAFSA form
Learn more about the changes and how to prepare below. We will continue to update this page as information becomes available.
Update
The 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form launched on Dec. 31, 2023. The Department of Education has identified a few minor issues with the form which they will continue to monitor and address. We will not begin receiving your FAFSA data from the Department of Education until late spring/early summer.
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What has changed on the FAFSA?
Changes on the new FAFSA include:
- fewer questions to answer
- changes to how financial aid eligibility is calculated
- expanded access to Pell Grants
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC) replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI)
- possible participation by parent(s), stepparent(s), or spouse on your FAFSA form as a contributor
- contributors will each need their own FSA ID
- your federal tax information will be transferred directly from the IRS into the form
- consent for the transfer of federal tax information is required to be eligible for federal student aid
- your FAFSA can now be sent to up to 20 schools
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What has not changed on the FAFSA?
- The financial aid priority deadline for Fall 2024 semester at College of Western Idaho is July 27, 2024
- The FAFSA will still need to be completed each year to be awarded and receive aid
- Dependency status questions that determine if your parent(s) must provide their information remain the same
- The FAFSA will still use income and tax information from the "prior-prior year", meaning you will report 2022 information on the 2024-2025 FAFSA
- The types of aid, loan limits, and Pell Grant limits remain the same
- Financial Aid Terms & Conditions have not changed
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What should I do before filling out the FAFSA?
- If this will be your first time completing the FAFSA, be sure to create an FSA ID first
- Find out if you will be considered dependent or independent on the FAFSA form to determine whose information you must report
- If your parent(s), stepparent(s), or spouse need to be contributors, make sure they create their own FSA ID
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Where can I find more information on the new FAFSA?
- Federal Student Aid – What is the FAFSA Simplification Act?
- Federal Student Aid – Launch of the 2024-2025 FAFSA Form
- 2024-2025 Federal Student Aid Estimator Tool
- This tool provides an estimate of how much federal student aid the student may be eligible to receive based on the new need analysis calculation, the Student Aid Index (SAI).
- Please note: This is not the actual FAFSA. Students will still need to complete a 2024-2025 FAFSA form to determine their eligibility for federal student aid.