FAFSA Simplification

The 2024-2025 FAFSA will be available to complete in December 2023. Because of the significant changes required to the FAFSA Form and associated processing systems, the US Department of Education has delayed the opening of the FAFSA from the normal October 1 date. However, this change will only apply to the 2024-2025 FAFSA. Future FAFSAs will be available on October 1 as usual.

The FAFSA Simplification Act has reduced the number of questions and requirements that must be submitted. Additionally, tax information will be retrieved directly from the IRS using Direct Data Exchange instead of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).

Students and other contributors must provide information on the FAFSA. A contributor is anyone (student, student’s spouse, biological or adoptive parent, or parent’s spouse) who is required to provide information on the FAFSA form. A student’s or parent’s answers on the FAFSA form will determine which contributors (if any) will be required to provide information.

To complete the contributor’s portion of the FAFSA form, the contributor will

1. receive an email informing them that they’ve been identified as a contributor;
2. create a StudentAid.gov account if they don’t already have one;
3. review information about completing their section of the FAFSA form; and
4. provide the required personal and financial information and consent and approval on the student’s FAFSA form.

Contributors must consent to share tax information, or the application will not be processed and the student will be ineligible for federal financial aid.

While previous versions of the FAFSA resulted in an Expected Family Contribution (EFC), the new FAFSA will generate a Student Aid Index (SAI). The data and formulas used to calculate the SAI are changing, which means your eligibility for aid may change as well. The new SAI calculations will expand eligibility for Federal Pell Grants. However, because some data elements are being eliminated from the FAFSA and/or SAI calculations, some students who received a Federal Pell Grant in the past may no longer be eligible in 2024-25 and beyond.

After you submit the FAFSA, it will be processed in 3-5 business days. Once it is processed, you will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly called the Student Aid Report). Your FAFSA information will be sent to the schools you selected.

Estimated financial aid offers will be sent to new undergraduate students who have been admitted beginning March 1. Returning students will be notified of aid eligibility in early summer via Drury email.

• FAFSA contributors should create an FSA ID if they do not already have one
• Plan to complete the FAFSA as soon as it opens in December 2024
• Monitor state aid deadlines that may be impacted by the delayed opening of the FAFSA