What Ohioans need to know about the new FAFSA process for college student aid

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The federal student aid application is now available, and with some significant changes for the 2024-2025 year.

The U.S. Department of Education announced its "soft launch" of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid on Sunday, opening the application for "short periods of time" and pausing it for maintenance and updates. Federal Student Aid posted on X hours before the application launch that there were "minor issues affecting user experience" that it hoped to resolve during the soft launch.

The delayed rollout, which typically happens in October, is due to a slew of law changes impacting contribution calculations, grant eligibility and the application process itself. During the soft launch, no student information will be shared with schools or states until the end of January.

The federal FAFSA deadline is June 30, 2025, but to qualify for aid from the state of Ohio, students must complete the form by Oct. 1, 2024. Many colleges and universities use FAFSA information to determine eligibility for scholarships and grants; institutions’ financial aid offices will have details and additional forms to submit, if required.

The changes beginning with the 2024-25 application cycle are the last of a series of revisions to the process under the FAFSA Simplification Act, first passed by Congress in the 2020-2021 budget. Previous changes include the elimination of eligibility restrictions related to selective service registration and drug convictions, an updated definition of “cost of attendance,” and allowing incarcerated individuals to qualify for Pell Grants.

A new student aid calculator

Most significantly, the 2024-25 FAFSA is the first that uses the “Student Aid Index” instead of Expected Family Contribution for determining award eligibility and expands qualifications for maximum Pell Grant awards. Anyone required to fill out information on a student’s form will be considered a “contributor.”

FAFSA uses three equations to calculate an applicant’s Student Aid Index, depending on if they’re a dependent student, an independent student without dependents, or an independent student with dependents – as determined by tax filings. The calculations are a series of factors that add, or subtract, to an applicant’s expected ability to pay for education and are explained in detail in the Federal Student Aid draft SAI guide.

The Student Aid Index is not a dollar amount but is used by colleges and universities to determine aid eligibility.

Unlike the Expected Family Contribution, the Student Aid Index does not consider whether a student’s family has other children in college. It can also be a negative value, with a minimum value of -1,500 instead of 0 and a maximum of 999,999.

A student’s caregiver may not be considered a “contributor” to their education for purposes of determining aid eligibility. Under the new application, “contributors” include the student, their spouse, biological or adoptive parents or their parent’s spouse. Grandparents, foster parents, stepparents or legal guardians aren’t considered “contributors” unless they have legally adopted the student.

Federal Student Aid has released an updated calculator to estimate how much aid a student may be eligible for.

Less paperwork but more online steps

Many of the definition modifications align FAFSA more closely with tax filings – which, beginning with the 2024-25 application, will be pulled directly from the IRS instead of needing to be submitted by the applicant. Students and their contributors must individually consent to the IRS transfer to be eligible for federal student aid, even if their contributors don’t have a social security number, didn’t file taxes the previous year, or filed outside the U.S.

With the IRS taking over the lion's share of financial data needed, what was last year an 103-question process has been whittled down to as few as 18 questions for some students.

Starting this year, all contributors will be required to create an FSA ID to complete a student’s FAFSA. You can create an FSA ID on StudentAid.gov with your name, date of birth and social security number; contributors without a social security number are still required to create an FSA ID.

Once listed as a contributor, contributors will be able to complete their respective portions of a student’s FAFSA from their own account.

Students will also be able to list up to 20 colleges on their FAFSA if submitting online; if submitting a PDF, they’re limited to 10 colleges.

Expanded Pell Grant eligibility

The Department of Education estimates that 22,500 more Ohioans will be eligible this year for the Federal Pell Grant, available to low-income undergraduate students and some postgraduate students. Another 46,000 Ohioans will likely be eligible for the maximum Pell Grant award, which is not repaid.

Pell Grant eligibility will be based on the Student Aid Index and is tied to federal poverty guidelines. Eligibility for the maximum Pell Grant award depends on whether the student is dependent or independent and is as follows:

• For all students, if SAI is between -1,500 and 0 or if applicant (or parent) is not required to file federal income tax return
• For dependent students, if any of the following apply:
  • Parent is single with an adjusted gross income up to 225% of the federal poverty level
  • Parent is not single and adjusted gross income is up to 175% FPL
• For independent students, if any of the following apply:
  • Is a single parent and adjusted gross income is up to 225%
  • Is not a single parent and adjusted gross income is up to 175%

The 2023 federal poverty line for a family of four is $30,000.

For students who don’t qualify for the maximum award, Pell Grant amounts are calculated by subtracting the Student Aid Index from the maximum award amount. The 2024-25 maximum Pell Grant amount has not been announced. The 2023-24 maximum amount was $7,395.