What's new with the 2024-25 FAFSA?
Source: U.S. Department of Education
2025-26 FAFSA Announcements
Starting on October 1, the Department released the 2025-26 FAFSA form for testing with a limited set of students and institutions.
The first phase of the FAFSA rollout came a close in mid-October, and the feedback from families has been overall positive. It seems that The Department of Education is on track to release the form broadly on, or before, December 1st. Please check back intermittently as we will update when more information is released.
The Department of Ed began the third round of testing on November 1st. Department staff have been onsite to support families through the process and to receive in-time feedback. We are excited to hear that among those have families that have provided feedback, there is a satisfaction rate of 95%. The 4th and final round of beta testing will begin in the middle of the month, and it appears as though we are on track for the form to be released on, or before, December 1st. Additionally, if a student is having difficulty in deciding which parent to put on the FAFSA, Federal Student Aid has recently released a helpful form to walk the student through this process. Please check back intermittently as we will update when more information is released.
2024-25 FAFSA Changes
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used by colleges to determine eligibility for need-based grants, loans, and Federal Work-Study. The FAFSA Simplification Act introduces several changes and enhancements to the FAFSA, which take effect with the 2024-25 FAFSA. Below is helpful information to explain the changes.
Overview
The FAFSA is being redesigned starting for the 2024-25 academic year.
- Fewer Questions: The great news is students and families submitting the FAFSA will answer far fewer questions... so it will be faster and easier to complete.
- Easier to Complete: A lot more information will be transferred into the FAFSA directly from the IRS. There will be less searching for information when it’s time to submit your FAFSA.
- New Look: The new FAFSA looks fundamentally different. The student or parent will start the FAFSA and complete the information needed for their section. They will then invite the other person (or persons) to complete their section of the FAFSA.
Notable Changes
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Business/Farm Value: Families must now report the value of their business and/or farm on the 2024-25 FAFSA.
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Divorced/Separated Parents: The parent on the FAFSA is now based on the amount of financial support. Previously it was based who the student lived with most.
Who Completes the FAFSA?
- "Contributors": A contributor is anyone required to provide their information on the FAFSA (in addition to the student, other contributors can be a parent, stepparent, or student’s spouse). Contributors will receive an email inviting them to login using their own FSA ID and to provide the required information. Every contributor must provide consent to retrieve their federal tax information from the IRS in order to be eligible for Federal Student Aid.
- Divorced or Separated Parent: Starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA, if a student’s biological/adoptive parents are divorced or separated, the parent who provides the most financial support to the student in the prior 12 months will be the parent on the FAFSA, even if the student does not live with that parent. If that parent on the FAFSA is married/remarried, step-parent's information will be required as well.
- FSA ID: Every contributor will need an Federal Student Aid ID (or FSA ID).
- If you already have a FSA ID (great!), it will be used to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA.
- If the student and/or parent(s) do not have a FSA ID, we encourage you to obtain one today! You do not need to wait for the 2024-25 FAFSA to be available. Learn more about how to create the FSA ID here. Note: It is a known issue of the new FAFSA that parents without SSNs are currently experiencing difficulty creating accounts, and even if account creation is possible, they cannot be added to a FAFSA or contribute. Don't worry: if there are factors preventing your family from completing the FAFSA at this time, you will have full consideration for financial aid from Lawrence University.
Key Terminology
| New Term | Previous Term | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Student Aid Index (SAI) | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) | Calculated from the FAFSA data and used to determine student aid eligibility. |
| Direct Data Exchange (DDX) | IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) | Process of using IRS data to complete the FAFSA. |
| FAFSA Submission Summary | Student Aid Report (SAR) | Results of the FAFSA; a document that provides a summary of the data reported on the FAFSA. |
| Consent | Required from each contributor in order for IRS tax data to be used when completing the FAFSA. | |
| Contributor | Anyone who is required to provide information on the FAFSA (e.g. student, parent, step-parent) | |
| Federal Tax Information (FTI) | Contributor's federal tax data on the FAFSA that comes directly from the IRS. |
Students and Contributors create your FSA ID(s) on the Federal Student Aid site.