If you’re not familiar with FASFA, it is a form that upcoming college students fill out to explore their eligibility for federal student aid. FASFA helps students who have families with lower incomes and provides a way to cover college expenses.
Although lower-income families look into it, so should higher-income families as well. College is an expensive necessity so all financial aid helps and applies to all who may be interested.
The FASFA form for 2024-2025 students has come across multiple delays that concern not only students, but also parents, colleges, and advisors, however, these delays are causing more and more complications through the years.
In October of 2023, a FASFA official decided to not commit to the launch of the form. A month later was the announcement of a delay as well as the finished form being completed in the last months of 2023. The form, by law, needed to be completed by January 1, 2024.
There has been little to no talk about issues and difficulties stated by FASFA themselves, but we know there is a glitch within their technology that has caused students to be blocked from applying due to their parents not having a social security number.
Therefore, there were new changes added, such as:
- Choosing the Student Aid Index over the Expected Family Contribution to determine how much money a student should receive.
- Expanding access to the Pell Grant, while basing it off of the size of household and gross income.
- Ends the discount for families that have more than one child participating in college.
- Student families that make a gross income of less than $60,000 do not have to fill out detailed financial questions.
While there are new changes and as well, upgrades, individuals are still having trouble with FASFA. Some lower-income families are receiving less financial aid for College than others that have wealthy stable homes which brings more students, families, and teachers/professors concerns to the surface.