2024-2025 FAFSA Information
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2024-2025 FAFSA FILING INCENTIVES
Latest Update, as of April 2024:
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that colleges and universities will receive FAFSA applications later than normal this year. Due to these circumstances, we cannot begin making decisions about financial aid until we receive the required information from the U.S. Department of Education. This means notifications about federal student aid have been significantly delayed.
The delay from the U.S. Department of Education will not affect your eligibility for federal student aid. However, it has delayed our timeline to award and notify students. All students are encouraged to actively monitor their Financial Aid Dashboard in the university portal account so that you will see when your FAFSA is sent to us. After we receive the FAFSA, if you see any unsatisfied requirements on the Home page of the Financial Aid Dashboard, those must be cleared up prior to us reviewing your application.
An additional resource to utilize in the meantime is the 2024-2025 FAFSA Frequently Asked Questions webpage, provided by Federal Student Aid, that can be found at the following link: 2024-2025 FAFSA FAQ's. You may also contact our office at financialaid@una.edu and we will be glad to assist you with any questions or concerns.
March 6, 2024 Updates
The U.S. Department of Education announced the following in an electronic announcement on March 4, 2024:
- 2024-2025 FAFSA's should begin becoming available to institutions throughout March. However, please note that this does not mean that a student's aid package will immediately be available.
- Students can review their application status on StudentAid.gov.
- Students will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary after their form has been processed. Students may immediately use the Submission Summary to review their form answers and understand any actions needed to complete their form.
- The Department will follow-up in the coming weeks with an email notifying students that their form has been processed and their information has been sent to their schools and state.
- Students with contributors without a Social Security Number will be able to submit their FAFSA application the first half of March.
- Students who need to make corrections to their form will be able to do so later in March.
February 15, 2024 Updates
Federal Student Aid (FSA) has a YouTube channel available with various videos that can be used to complete specific portions of the 2024-2025 FAFSA application. We would encourage you to utilize this resource for commonly asked questions, issues, etc.
The YouTube channel can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/user/FederalStudentAid
January 4, 2024 Updates
THE 2024-2025 FAFSA IS NOW LIVE AND CAN BE ACCESSED HERE: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Additionally, please note the following regarding creating FSA ID's for contributor's without a Social Security Number (SSN):
The FSA ID is required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online as a student applicant or as a contributor (parent/stepparent or spouse of a student applicant). While in the past a Social Security Number (SSN) was required to obtain an FSA ID, students’ spouses, parents, and stepparents who do not have an SSN can obtain an FSA ID beginning in late December 2023.
For step-by-step instructions on how to create an FSA ID without a SSN, please click the link here: https://www.nasfaa.org/uploads/documents/FSA_ID_without_SSN.pdf
For a Spanish translation of step-by-step instructions on how to create an FSA ID without a SSN, please click the link here:
https://www.nasfaa.org/uploads/documents/Spanish_FSA_ID_without_SSN.pdf
November 8, 2023 Updates
Below are additional videos offered by Federal Student Aid (FSA) Outreach as a means to provide the most up-to-date information in order to prepare for the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
These videos are a part of a "Financial Aid Bootcamp" session and include "How to Prepare for the 24-25 FAFSA Form," and prototypes of the FAFSA form for both a Dependent and an Independent student. Please utilize the videos below as needed.
October 19, 2023 Updates
As more information is continually released, we wanted to provide short, helpful videos from the Federal Student Aid (FSA) YouTube channel. Please utilize the videos below as needed.
September 25, 2023 Updates
- The Student Aid Index, or "SAI" is replacing the Estimated Family Contribution, or "EFC" beginning with the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
- Where the EFC has previously been used to determine a student's eligibility for need-based aid such as a Pell grant, the SAI will now be used to do this by considering family size, adjusted gross income (AGI), poverty guidelines, and tax filing status.
- SAI will also include items such as child support, family farms, and small businesses as assets.
- The number in college will NOT be included in the SAI.
***NOW AVAILABLE: SAI ESTIMATOR***
- The SAI Estimator is a tool provided by the U.S. Department of Education that can be used to provide an estimate for the amount of aid a student may receive based on the information submitted.
- Please note: this is ONLY an estimation and not the actual FAFSA application and/or the final amount of aid a student is guaranteed to receive.
- The SAI Estimator can be accessed through the link above, or by visiting https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/.
FSA ID Information:
- ALL contributors (student, parents, or parent and spouse) must have an FSA ID.
- For NEW FSA ID's, it takes about 3-5 days to verify, so complete this step EARLY!
- FSA ID's can be created at https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landingstudentaid.gov.
Tax Information:
- 2022 Federal Taxes and 2022 W2's will be used for the 2024-2025 FAFSA for tax filers.
- ALL contributors must provide consent for the Direct Data Exchange (formerly the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, or DRT), even if they did not file taxes in 2022.
- No consent = no federal aid eligibility!!!
FAFSA Application and Updates: studentaid.gov
UNA Student Financial Aid Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNA.StudentFinancialAid/
UNA Student Financial Aid Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/una_student_financial_aid/
SAI Estimator: https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/
FSA ID: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/landingstudentaid.gov
August 1, 2023 Updates
Brief Overview of Timeline and Tips for the 2024-2025 FAFSA
- a more streamlined application process,
- expanded eligibility for federal financial aid,
- reduced barriers for certain student populations, and
- a better user experience on the FAFSA form.
- The Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is the number that determines Pell eligibility and other need-based aid will be replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI).
- A "contributor" will include students, parents, and other parents, and each contributor must have an FSA ID and password.
- A student's Cost of Attendance (COA) minus their Student Aid Index (SAI) will equal their financial need.
- COA - SAI = NEED
- The 2024-2025 FAFSA will become available in December 2023 at studentaid.gov.
- The 2024-2025 FAFSA will require 2022 federal tax information for all contributors.
FAFSA Application and Updates: studentaid.gov
UNA Student Financial Aid Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNA.StudentFinancialAid/
UNA Student Financial Aid Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/una_student_financial_aid/