• 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/

• 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 guarenteed 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