The FAFSA opens on October 1st. 

Students should complete their FAFSA as soon as it becomes available on October 1st and before February 15th.

• Make sure you can log into StudentAid.gov account
• Find out if your parent(s) or spouse will need to be contributors (contribute their info on your FAFSA form).
• If your parent(s) or spouse will need to contribute to your form, make sure each contributor creates their own StudentAid.gov account. Even if a contributor doesn’t have a Social Security number, they will be able to create an account.

Some of the changes to the FAFSA include:

• The new FAFSA is a more streamlined and shorter form and has 46 questions. Because this form is dynamic, some students will be presented with less than 46 questions.
• Students may list up to 20 colleges and universities. Previously, this number was 10.
• Currently, the FAFSA is only available in English and Spanish. The application will be expanded to include the 11 most common languages.
• Watch the “Preparing for the FAFSA Form” playlist to understand what information and documents you’ll need to fill out the FAFSA form.

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is being replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI). The SAI is a number that’s used to determine eligibility for need-based aid. It is calculated using information that the student (and contributors, if required) provides on the FAFSA form. A student’s SAI can be a negative number down to –1500. SAI is replacing EFC because the term EFC created some confusion in the past and SAI more accurately reflects student’s need-based eligibility.

Financial need = Cost of Attendance (COA) – Student Aid Index (SAI) – Other Financial Assistance (OFA)

For dependent students, financial information will be required from the parent(s) who provided the most financial support to the student in the 12 months before filing the FAFSA. Previously, financial information was needed from the parent(s) the student had lived with the most in the last 12 months.

See Who is the Parent on the FAFSA

Both a dependent student and their parent must create their own StudentAid.gov account to complete their respective sections on the FAFSA.

• On the “Invite Parent(s) to This FAFSA Form®” view, the student will check the “My parent doesn’t have an SSN” box.
  • The student will enter the parent’s address instead.
• Parent logs in with FSA ID, and the online FAFSA experience is exactly the same as for someone with an SSN with only one exception:
  • ITIN field displays on “Parent Identity Information” view

• "Contributor" is a new term being introduced on the new FAFSA form.
• A contributor is anyone who is required to provide a signature on the FAFSA form as well as provide consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred from the IRS directly into the form via direct data exchange.
• This includes the student and may include the student’s spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or the parent’s spouse (stepparent).
• Non-adoptive grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, brothers or sisters, and aunts or uncles, even if they helped provide for or raise the student are not contributors
• Contributors will receive an email informing them that they've been identified as such, and will need to log in using their own FSA ID (if they don't already have one) to provide the required information on the student's FAFSA.
• Contributor participation does not indicate financial responsibility.

All students and contributors must provide consent and approval to:

• Disclose their personally identifiable information (PII) provided on the FAFSA form to the IRS for matching purposes;
• Obtain their federal tax information directly from the IRS via the direct data exchange and allow the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to use their federal tax information to determine the student’s aid eligibility. This consent also allows ED to share their federal tax information with postsecondary institutions and state higher education agencies for use in awarding and administering financial aid.

• If a student or required contributor doesn’t provide consent and approval, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid—even if they manually enter tax information into the FAFSA form.
• Information about how federal tax information will be used and the consequences of not providing consent and approval will be included on the FAFSA form.
• Even if a student or contributor doesn’t have a Social Security number, didn’t file taxes, or filed taxes outside of the U.S., they still need to provide consent and approval

Family farms and small businesses will now count as assets, less the family's primary residence if it is also located on the farm.