Millions of people across the nation rely, or have relied, on assistance with college tuition. One of the routes a prospective student can take is feeling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or otherwise known as FAFSA.
Typically,theFAFSAform is available every October. However, the form for the 2024 school year was not released in October. The form is receiving a major overhaul and is slotted to be live on December 31.
Prospective students had to answer 103 questions on the previous form. The new updated form only requires 36 questions.
Whether or not a student qualifies for government grants and loans depends on a few things. One of the deciding factors is the estimated family contribution (EFC). That is being replaced by the student aid index (SAI). The lower the student’s SAI, the higher the student aid determination is.
Another change will be eligibility for the Pell Grants. The Department of Education noted that 1,489,015 more students will be eligible nationally, and over 130,000 in Texas will now be able to qualify for the maximum grant.
Many Texas students did not previously qualify for the grants. However, it is projected that over 5,000 will now be eligible.
With all the new changes, unfortunately, there is a downside. Many students who were previously eligible, may not be so anymore. The “sibling discount” is going away. Families with multiple students will no longer receive discounts.
An interactive calculator to help calculate what a student could be eligible for can be found at https:// www.brookings.edu/articles/ the-complication-with-fafsasimplification/ .
Students can also visit https://studentaid. gov/aid-estimator/?utm_ content=&utm_ medium=email&utm_ name=&utm_ source=govdelivery&utm_term= for another look.
Regardless of the new changes, students or prospective students should fill out the FAFSA application as soon as it is available because some of the money is first come, first served.