That means its easier than ever to get the financial assistance students need.
The exact deadlines vary by state, but its best to turn the form in as quickly as possible.
Early applicants have better chances for more federal financial aid.
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The new form is now much easier to fill out.
In recent years, applicants have been able to use older tax information instead of making estimations and corrections.
And for the 2024-25 school year, the FAFSA has shrunk to just 36 questions instead of 108.
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Thats why were here.
Behold: Your ultimate guide to filling out the FAFSA form.
What Is the FAFSA and Why Should I Fill it Out?
One caveat or limitation to using the IRS Data Retrieval tool.
If thats the case, contact your schools financial aid office to discuss options.
Youll still need to fill out your FAFSA form using the data you already reported.
The deadline for submitting a FAFSA is still June 30 for the previous academic year beginning July 1.
Youll have even longer until June 30, 2025 to complete your 2024-25 FAFSA.
Never bank on student loan forgiveness when taking out a new loan, as it cant be guaranteed.
Heres what you should familiarize yourself with before filling out the FAFSA form.
Find Your States Deadline
When is the FAFSA due?
Check the deadlinefor your state of residence and note any special rules for award programs.
For example, lets say you wait until actually applying to gather your documents.
Gather your materials before you jump in to avoid that stress.
Some will be available through the direct data exchange with the IRS.
We recommend printing it out and doing the practice form in pencil.
Note:This only applies to 2023-24 applications.
This is not applicable for 2024-25 applications, since the process has been simplified.
Now you create a username and password.
Tocreate an FSA ID, youll need your Social Security number, a mobile phone and an email address.
The Social Security Administration verifies the information provided for FSA IDs.
If your parents do not have an SSN, they cant create an FSA ID or electronically sign documents.
Instead, theyll need to print out the relevant sections of the FAFSA document and physically sign them.
In the portions of the form that request an SSN, they should use the number 000-00-0000.
Instead, youll see a number called the Student Aid Index (SAI).
Aside from the rebrand, the biggest change from EFC to SAI is the range.
The old formula used to give breaks to families with multiple kids in college.
The updated SAI does not provide such relief.
Whether youre looking at an EFC or SAI, is not a definitive number of what you will owe.
We repeat: Do not panic.
Still, its good to know what to expect.
TheFAFSA Web Worksheetand last years FAFSA program will drastically help you set expectations for the 2023-24 FAFSA.
If youre filling out the FAFSA for 2024-25, let out a great big sigh of relief.
The new form only has 36 questions.
Only about six pages contain questions.
Even better, you wont need to answer every single question.
There are separate sections for parental information that wont be required for everyone.
Well dive even deeper into how the subsections break down below.
Heres a closer look.
Heres what you, as a student, may be required to answer.
Steps 1-3 of the FAFSA ask about your financial situation, basic demographics and marital status.
Step 6 is also for students.
In this section, youll list the top colleges that you want to attend and receive financial aid for.
you might use the colleges institution code, which is indexed in aneasily searchable database.
In lieu of a code, it’s possible for you to list the colleges full name and address.
This step requests parental information related to taxes, income, demographics and more.
What is your parents state of legal residence?)
So its best to have them nearby.
Heres a simple breakdown of the steps:
After You Submit Your FAFSA Form
Congratulations!
For the 2023-24 school year, youll see your EFC listed on your SAR.
Again, dont panic at this number.
For 2024-25, youll see the SAI.
When the colleges youve applied to send your acceptance notices (fingers crossed!
Any current and prospective college students should complete the FAFSA, even if they dont think theyll qualify.
Many colleges use the information from the FAFSA to determine eligibility for merit-based scholarships and other financial aid.
After you complete the FAFSA form the first time, it becomes much easier to do so subsequently.
The FAFSA became available on Oct. 1, 2022, for the 2023-24 academic school year.
The federal deadline to submit the FAFSA for that academic year is June 30, 2024.
However, many states set their own deadlines, which could be much sooner.
And federal aid is earmarked on a first-come-first-served basis.
So applying earlier is always better.
This form reflects additional changes from the FAFSA Simplification Act.
There are several key things you might do before you sit down to fill out the form itself.
