FINANCIAL AID (FAFSA)
The FAFSA, officially known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the form that families fill out to apply for federal grants, loans, and work-study funds for college students. It is administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Your eligibility for federal grants (which don’t have to be repaid) and federal loans (which do) will generally be based on your financial need, as determined by the information you supply on your FAFSA. The online FAFSA form will guide you step by step. Once you complete and submit the application, your information automatically gets sent to the schools you listed on your FAFSA form. Your school will send you an aid offer listing the types and amounts of aid you're eligible for. While FAFSA does not offer scholarships, many states, schools, or other organizations do—and we’ve got a scholarship search to help you find that free money.
Click here to learn more about the FAFSA
CHANGES TO FAFSA FOR THE 2024-2025 ACADEMIC YEAR
Federal Student Aid is making changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that could significantly affect students who complete the FAFSA for the 2024-2025 academic year.
FAFSA WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL DECEMBER 2023
The FAFSA typically opened annually on October 1st. FAFSA anticipates the 2024-2025 application to open sometime in December 2023.
BOTH STUDENTS AND PARENTS MUST CREATE A STUDENT AID ACCOUNT TO GET AN FSA ID BEFORE COMPLETING THE FORM
Both students and parents must create a Student Aid Account or FSA ID.
The student must provide the legal name, Social Security number, D.O.B., and email of the parent(s) who will contribute to the FAFSA.
Parents and students must log in separately to complete their respective sections.
Students and parents must give consent to retrieve and disclose federal tax information
PARENT FILING STATUS
If parents file as married filing jointly – only one parent FSA ID is required.
If parents are unmarried but live together or are married and filing taxes separately, both parents must have an FSA ID.
For divorced or separated parents. Previously, the parent a student lived with the most in the last calendar year was included in the FAFSA. Starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the parent who provided the most financial support must complete the application.
THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS A FAMILY HAS ENROLLED IN COLLEGE WILL NO LONGER BE A FACTOR IN THE FAFSA CALCULATION
FSA will no longer divide the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), soon to be called the Student Aid Index (SAI), by the number of students a family has in college. For Instance, If your EFC was $10,000 last year, the amount was divided by the number of students enrolled in college – meaning if you have two children attending college, your EFC was $5,000 per student. In the future, your SAI will be $10,000 per student.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION REQUIRED AS PART OF THE APPLICATION
If the biological parents are separated or divorced, the FAFSA will require financial information from the parent(s) who provided the most financial support to the student (previously the parent the student lived with most in the last 12 months).
Parent(s) will now report these items as an asset:
Child support received
Net worth of a business
Net worth of a family farm
Parent(s) will no longer report child support paid.
The FAFSA will no longer require these untaxed items:
Payments to tax-deferred retirement or pensions
Veterans non-educational benefit
Workers’ compensation
EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC) WILL NOW BECOME THE STUDENT AID INDEX OR SAL
SAI better reflects the FAFSA results, not what a family is expected to pay.
The number in college will no longer factor into the SAI calculation.
The SAI or federal poverty tables will determine Pell Grant eligibility.
Please note: These are the current updates as of August 2023. There are continued updates and changes being made by Federal Student Aid.
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2024-2025 FAFSA BASICS AND STUDENT FINANCIAL AID AWARENESS
See the attached link for more information on the 2024-2025 FAFSA and Student Aid Awareness
See the attachment for information on "How to Apply for Student Financial Aid". How to Apply for Student Financial Aid Brochure
See attachment for information on "TAP: Helping New Yorkers Pay for College". TAP Brochure
Financial Aid Presentation - Financial Aid Presentation
SUNY SMART Track - https://www.suny.edu/smarttrack/applying-for-financial-aid/
FAFSA HOTLINE
If you have questions about filling out the FAFSA
Money for College: FAFSA Dos and Don'ts with students and families…
HESC is here to help with FAFSA questions:
Call us toll-free at 1-800-808-1790, Mondays through Fridays, 12:00 pm-5:00 pm
or email us anytime at FAFSAhelp@HESC.ny.gov.
Cut/paste this link for more information: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out
HESC - HIGHER EDUCATION SERVICE CORPORATION
The Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) is New York State’s higher education student financial aid agency.
HESC Administers:
- New York’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)
- 20+ State scholarship and loan forgiveness programs
- New York’s 529 College Savings Program, with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC)
- Financial aid outreach programs for students and families
EDUMED RESOURCES
EduMed features 45 key resources low-income students can take advantage of, from college financial aid like Pell Grants and need-based scholarships to affordable housing and food assistance programs. You can check out the page at the link below. Included is a link to our in-depth financial aid guide, which also provides some helpful info for low-income students, including tips for filling out the FAFSA.
45 Must-Have Resources for Low-Income Students:
https://www.edumed.org/resources/low-income-students/
Student's Guide to Financial Aid Online:
https://www.edumed.org/financial-aid/
