2024-2025 FAFSA Information
The 2024-2025 FAFSA is live!
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has experienced a significant overhaul for the 2024-2025 aid year due to the FAFSA Simplification Act. As a result, higher education institutions around the country are closely monitoring updates provided by the Department of Education.
USA's Office of Financial Aid is committed to helping students and families understand the changes and impacts as we look forward to the 2024-2025 academic year. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. We are here to help!
What to Expect
NOTE: This timeline is subject to change as updates become available from the Department of Education.
Mid-March: Earliest the Department of Education may begin sending completed 2024-25 FAFSAs to schools.
April 15 (updated 4/16): Students and contributors can make corrections to their existing 2024-25 FAFSA.
Click here for detailed information on how to make corrections.
May 17 (updated 5/17): First round of aid offer notifications issued via JagMail.
Late May (updated 5/24): Notifications will be sent via JagMail if additional action is needed to process aid offers.
Late June:
- Department of Education will begin processing 2024-25 paper FAFSAs.
- Tentative start for school initiated corrections for 2024-25 FAFSAs.
June 28: Professional Judgment Appeal reviews will begin for 2024-25.
The Office of Financial Aid communicates with students through JagMail and PAWS. Students should check both on a regular basis.
Passed in 2020, the FAFSA Simplification Act initiated changes in the formulas used to determine federal aid eligibility as well as an easier user experience with the FAFSA form.
- The FAFSA form has been shortened from 108 questions to a maximum of 46 questions.
- Expanded eligibility for all federal student aid programs.
- Definition of FAFSA Contributors has been updated, including how to determine a student's parent of record.
- Small business and/or family farm values must be reported as assets.
- The IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) has been replaced with the IRS Direct Data Exchange
(DDX).
- DDX requires consent from all FAFSA contributors.
- Reporting of family size will more closely align with IRS tax returns.
- The number of household members in college will no longer be considered in the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation.
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is now the Student Aid Index (SAI).
- The Student Aid Index (SAI) is an eligibility index number included on the FAFSA Submission Summary that is used to determine how much federal student aid a student would receive. This number results from the information provided on the FAFSA and is not a dollar amount of aid eligibility or what a family is expected to provide. A negative SAI indicates the student has a higher financial need. Learn how the SAI is calculated.
- The Student Aid Report is now the FAFSA Submission Summary.
- The FAFSA Submission Summary has been specifically designed to highlight estimated eligibility for federal student aid but is not an aid offer. It will include the answers submitted on the FAFSA (except for any federal tax information that was transferred directly from the IRS), SAI, and an estimation of the amount of federal student aid that may be processed.
- It is important to review the summary to make sure all of the information is correct and complete. Make corrections or provide additional information, as necessary.
- The types of aid and federal student loan limits.
- Each student and at least one parent needs a FSA ID created and successfully validated prior to completing the FAFSA.
- Filing the FAFSA remains a yearly process. For 2025-26, the FAFSA will revert back to the traditional October 1 opening date at http://fafsa.gov.
- The FAFSA still asks for prior-prior year tax information. For 2024-25, tax information
from 2022 will be obtained through DDX.
- If circumstances within the family have changed since filing 2022 taxes, Professional Judgment Appeals can be submitted through the USA Financial Aid Verification Portal after receiving a finalized aid offer.
- Federal Student Aid provides more helpful information, including the following:
- 2024–25 FAFSA Launch | Federal Student Aid
- Pro Tips for the 2024–25 FAFSA | Federal Student Aid
- Resources | Federal Student Aid
- What’s Changed for the 2024–25 FAFSA? (video)
- Start Your 2024–25 FAFSA (video)
- Applying for Financial Aid With the FAFSA (video)
- Who Is a Contributor on the 2024–25 FAFSA? (video)
- Understand and Prepare FAFSA Form Contributors (video)
- How Do I Complete the 2024-25 FAFSA if my Parent is a Noncitizen? (video)