The FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is an important form for students and/or their parents to fill out every academic year to determine how much aid and scholarships students are eligible to receive to help pay for college. There are many reasons to complete the FASFA. Even if your family is not considered a “low-income household,” you could still be eligible for aid. Completing and submitting the FASFA is a prerequisite for receiving merit-based scholarships at many universities, qualifying for work-study programs, and for receiving Federal loans. And while it can feel like a daunting task to fill out the application, as well as keep up with any changes, know that we’re here to help!

Here are some of the changes to the FASFA starting in October 2022 you should know about it.

Less questions

The FASFA used to have 108 questions (gulp!). The application is now just 36 or fewer questions – all the more reason to fill it out. The number of questions will depend on each student’s particular situation.

Who is filling out the form?

The application now allows you to specify who is filling out the form – the student, a parent, etc., which should help cut down on any confusion as you are filling out the form, hopefully cutting down on mistakes.

Drug convictions

While the FASFA still asks about drug convictions while receiving federal student aid, the student’s answer will no longer impact their ability to receive aid.

EFC vs. SAI – more acronyms!

The FASFA is updating the name of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to help cut down on confusion. The EFC was a number based on parent/student income and assets used to determine eligibility for receiving aid. The name has been changed to the Student Aid Index (SAI). Families would confuse the EFC number to mean how much they would be required to pay.

Instead, this number is used by universities to determine how much aid a particular student is eligible for. Unlike the EFC, the SAI can now be negative, allowing the colleges to more accurately judge how much need there is on a case-by-case basis.

Multiple kids in college

The EFC (now SAI) used to be decreased for families who had multiple kids in college at the same time. This would help families, even with higher income/assets, who were paying for more than one student at the same time. Unfortunately, the SAI will no longer be impacted by the number of students a family has enrolled in college.

Pell grants

Students can now learn whether or not they qualify for Pell Grants (undergraduate financial aid that typically does not need to be paid back) before they even fill out the FASFA. The qualifications have loosened for determining who is eligible to receive Pell Grants, qualifying more students to receive these grants, so you should definitely check it out.

Income protection

While parent and student assets and income are still reported, the excludable amounts have been increased, which is great news.

There you have it! If you have a student who plans to attend college next year, it’s important to fill out the FASFA to obtain as much aid as possible. The changes listed above will hopefully make the process of filing out the FASFA more straightforward. Everyone should fill out the FASFA as soon as possible starting in October for the upcoming academic year.

You can find more information as well as complete the FASFA here!

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