A simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid is lastly on-line after a significant delay.
Nevertheless, as a part of a “soft launch,” the brand new FAFSA kind has solely been periodically out there. It is possible few, if any, of the thousands and thousands of scholars making use of to varsity for the 2024-25 tutorial yr have been in a position to efficiently submit an utility, in response to larger training professional Mark Kantrowitz.
“I am convinced that nobody has been able to submit the form,” he mentioned.
“Congress required the FAFSA to be available before Jan. 1, 2024. They missed that deadline,” Kantrowitz mentioned.
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“Leading up to and as part of the soft launch, we have identified some minor issues,” the U.S. Division of Training mentioned in a statement Sunday . “We are aware of these issues and are working to resolve them.”
For now, Kalman Chany, a monetary help marketing consultant and creator of The Princeton Assessment’s “Paying for College,” advises college students and households to not panic. “If you are having access issues, it is better to wait,” he mentioned.
“They had to have something available even if it wasn’t ready for prime time.”
Even when college students do submit a accomplished 2024–25 FAFSA kind early this yr, that info will not be despatched to varsities till late January, the Division of Training additionally mentioned, “so you will have ample time to fill out the form and do not need to rush to complete the form during the soft launch.”
With the delayed timeline, faculties may nonetheless have the ability to get monetary help award presents finished by late March or early April, in response to Kantrowitz. “Otherwise, it will be a complete disaster,” he mentioned. “Families will not be able to get financial aid offers in a timely manner. Already, students who applied early action or early decision do not have award offers.”
What’s modified with the brand new FAFSA
Not solely has the timing modified, however the simplified kind now additionally makes use of a calculation referred to as the “Student Aid Index” to estimate how a lot a household can afford to pay.
Underneath the brand new system, extra low- and moderate-income college students can have entry to federal grants, however the adjustments will cut back eligibility for some wealthier households.
And, as a part of the FAFSA simplification, households will now not get a break for having a number of youngsters in school on the similar time, successfully eliminating the “sibling discount.”
They needed to have one thing out there even when it wasn’t prepared for prime time.
Kalman Chany
creator of The Princeton Assessment’s “Paying for College”
For now, the brand new FAFSA additionally depends on previous shopper value index figures from 2020, which do not account for the current runup in inflation. That might imply many college students “will get less financial aid than they deserve,” Kantrowitz mentioned.
“It is a pretty big deal,” he mentioned. “We are talking about thousands of additional dollars that families will have to pay for college.”
All households of 4 on this utility cycle with adjusted out there revenue over $35,000 will probably be affected by the failure to make inflationary changes, with middle- and higher-income college students the toughest hit, in response to Kantrowitz. There will probably be much less of an impact on lower-income college students whose anticipated household contribution was already $0.
For instance, a typical household in New York with adjusted out there revenue of $100,000 might be anticipated to contribute $12,943 as a substitute of $9,162 towards their annual school prices — a distinction of almost $4,000 in help, in response to calculations by Kantrowitz.
