AFSA applications must be submitted by June 30, 2024.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is now accessible for the academic year 2023–2024 as of today, October 1, 2022.
- The deadline for submitting the FAFSA form will be June 30, 2024 for both incoming and current students.
- Additionally, the FAFSA will be altered for this academic year due to legislation that was implemented in 2021.
What you should know is as follows.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be accessible as of October 1, 2022, and both new and returning students have until June 30, 2024 to complete it.
The federal government utilizes the FAFSA to decide if a student is eligible for financial aid and what kind of aid they might get.
Students have three options for submitting their FAFSA applications: online, print and send, or request a form to fill out and mail.
Each state and certain universities have their own distinct deadlines for filing the FAFSA in addition to the federal deadline.
The FAFSA will undergo a number of changes between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024 as a result of the FAFSA Simplification Act’s enactment.
How to Use:
The US Department of Education uses the FAFSA to assess your qualification for financial help. You must include your Social Security number (SSN), driver’s license number, alien registration number, federal tax information, tax documents, or tax returns for both you and your spouse (if you’re married), records of your untaxed income, and information on your other financial assets (including cash, the balances of your savings and checking accounts, investments, and business or farm assets) as part of the application. You will also need to supply your parents’ SSNs, additional tax information, proof of untaxed income, and details about other financial holdings if you are a dependent student.
The Education Department uses all of this data to determine your expected family contribution (EFC) and your eligibility for need-based financial aid, such as Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), direct subsidized loans, and Federal Work-Study, as well as non-need-based financial aid, such as direct unsubsidized loans, PLUS loans, and Teacher Education Access for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grants.
Effectively, there are three ways to submit the FAFSA form:
To apply online for Federal Student Aid, create an FSA ID (if you don’t already have one) and sign in on the FAFSA website (applicants could previously apply through the myStudentAid mobile app, but this was retired on June 30, 2022).
The 2023–24 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) must be fully filled out and printed before being mailed to the Federal Student Aid Programs, PO Box 7654, London, KY 40742-7654.
Call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) to request a printout of the 2023–24 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. Once completed, mail the form to the address above.
What You Should Remember
While the federal deadline for submitting your application is June 30, 2024, some universities, each state, the District of Columbia, four U.S. territories, three Oceanian nations, and Guam have set their own specific deadlines and/or have additional rules or forms for the 2023–2024 academic year. You should check with your financial aid office and/or administrator to see whether your residency and the college(s) you’re interested in applying to have their own deadlines before submitting the FAFSA. The deadline for some states also depends on how much financial aid they have available; in these cases, it depends on when those funds run out.
In general, you should try to submit your FAFSA as soon as feasible. Nevertheless, you have over nine months to finish the paperwork and provide any required financial adjustments. So, unless you reside in one of the states with low award funds, there is really no reason to be concerned if you are unable to submit your application on the first day. Additionally, since it’s a Saturday, there’s a good likelihood that many families and students will attempt to submit throughout this weekend, so the online application may load more slowly today.
Possible variations in 2023–24
Congress in the United States enacted the FAFSA Simplification Act back in December 2021. Numerous modifications to the FAFSA are currently planned to go into effect soon because of this new legislation. The general implementation date for these modifications as of the time the legislation was passed was July 1, 2023. The FAFSA Simplification Act’s implementation date was later pushed back to July 1, 2024, so the Education Department is now authorized to carry out certain of its provisions “on or after July 1, 2023, but no later than July 1, 2024.”
The Student Aid Index will replace the EFC, which is one of the most significant improvements (SAI). The SAI can be as low as -$1,500, but the EFC cannot be less than $0.
Less questions will need to be answered on the revised FAFSA, which will speed up the application process.
The amount of income utilized to determine the SAI has decreased due to an increase in the income protection allowance (IPA) levels.
It will no longer be illegal for anyone who are incarcerated in a federal or state prison to receive Pell Grants.
Students who were previously barred from receiving Pell Grants due to circumstances beyond their control now qualify again.
It will be simpler for students who are homeless or have experience with foster care to qualify for independent student status.
Federal student funding will no longer be unavailable to people who are assigned male at birth, fail to register with the Selective Service, and are convicted of possessing or selling a controlled substance.
There will be more information on how higher education institutions (IHEs) should figure out the various costs associated with a student’s attendance (COA).
There will be a repeal of the Subsidized Usage Limit Applies (SULA) rule, which prohibits first-time borrowers from receiving direct loans for a period longer than 150% the published length of the academic program in which they are currently enrolled.
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