The FAFSA 2024-2025 is finally open this year. The new FAFSA comes with some notable changes to go along with the pushed-back late-December release date.
Every year, seniors and current college students interested in government-issued aid for postsecondary education need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The FAFSA is organized by the Department of Education through the Office of Federal Student Aid.
The government provides aid through grants, work-study funds, and, most commonly, direct subsidized and direct unsubsidized loans. The better of the two loan systems are the direct subsidized loans, for which the government covers the interest.
Most students are eligible for some kind of federal aid based on their household income and other circumstances. Many grants and scholarships are accessed through application for the FAFSA, and many private scholarships require students to fill out the FAFSA.
For any college-bound student, the FAFSA is a near-necessity. While it is certainly not required, it provides the easiest access to typically the largest amount of aid that students receive. Paying for college up-front is not realistic for most students, so the FAFSA provides an outlet to federal loans and grants that ease the cost of education for many students.
For the 2024-2025 school year, the Department of Education updated the FAFSA form to broaden the reach of its scholarships and ease the application process for students. According to the Federal Student Aid website, “The 2024-2025 form expands eligibility for Federal Student Aid, including Pell Grants, and provides a streamlined user experience.”
The Federal Student Aid office is not lying about streamlining the experience. In the past, the FAFSA form could reach as many as 108 questions for students, while this year the maximum is 46. The Federal Student Aid office advertises that this year some students will only have to answer as little as 18 questions, “which could take less than 10 minutes.”
The Pell grant is an important government provision for many students in low-income families. The Pell grant does not require any repayment, which is the important distinction between a grant and a loan. In past years, over 6 million students were awarded a Pell grant, which, depending on a students’ need, can reach the maximum amount for a given year. This maximum varies each year, but has been over 7,000 dollars for a single year of college in the past.
Because of the changes to the FAFSA, the Department of Education predicts that approximately 610,000 new students from low-income backgrounds will receive Pell grants and that nearly 1.5 million more students will be eligible to receive the maximum amount, according to the Department of Education’s website.
The most noticeable change of the FAFSA for students applying for the 2024-2025 year is unrelated to easier application or better aid. In past years, the FAFSA opened on Oct. 1. This year, the changes pushed the date back to Dec. 30, with some complications accessing the form for families.
The launch of the form this winter is really a “Soft Launch,” according to the Office of Federal Student Aid. The form is only accessible in short periods during this launch. On Dec. 30, it was open for half an hour, on Dec. 31, it was only open for half an hour, and on Jan. 1 it was open for just two hours. Users accessing the forms outside of these windows received an explanation for the inconvenience on the site and were unable to start new forms or access existing ones.
While colleges, high schools, and the Department of Education alike advertised that the new form would be open on or before Jan. 1, 2024, this early date was more of a legal formality. Congress required that the Office of Federal Student Aid open the form by Jan. 1, 2024. However, the official application window for the 2024-2025 FAFSA, according to the Federal Student Aid office, is July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
The soft launch, which leaves a lot to be desired from families of students who do not want to procrastinate on their federal aid, is far outside the real window for applications. Families who submit forms during the soft launch do not have to resubmit them during the later window, though. These forms are still completely valid and are sent to the office of Federal Student Aid as usual.
The Office of Federal Student Aid advises students and their families seeking aid to relax. On the website explaining the soft launch, the office reminds families, “You will have plenty of time to complete the FAFSA form.” While the window is significantly pushed back from past years, students and their families willing to wait until after the inconsistent soft launch to fill out the form will still have a full year to complete it.
For most students, though, it would be best to put up with the soft launch version of the software. Most students apply to colleges by the end of their senior year, and colleges typically prefer to have financial aid information for students soon after accepting them so that the college itself can award its aid to a student based on information in the FAFSA. Further, aid from colleges tends to be on a first-come-first-serve basis, so if a student is already accepted they should make their need-based situation clear to the college as quickly as they can.
The soft launch version of the financial aid application may not be consistent or within the newly organized window for applications, but it may be in a student’s best interest to complete the form as soon as they can, especially because it is now easier and faster than ever. As of Jan. 4, the website is also operating much more often than during the first few days of launch, so, chances are, if a student tries the website now, they would be able to start their application and be in-and-out within an hour.
Applications for the FAFSA can be completed on the FAFSA website: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. Further information regarding the new FAFSA and the soft launch can be found on this page of the FAFSA website: https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/fafsa-support.
