The Better FAFSA: What Students and Their Families Need to Know

Higher Education Opens Doors to Opportunity

The U.S. Department of Education is making transformational changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. The FAFSA form is an application that students and families need to complete to apply for federal student aid, such as federal grants, work-study funds, and loans. Completing and submitting the FAFSA form is free, and it gives students access to the largest source of financial aid to help pay for higher education.

The Better FAFSA is:

Simple and streamlined.
Easier to fill out -- many people complete it in under 15 minutes
Unlocking an additional $1.8 billion in aid.
- 610,000 more students from low-income backgrounds will receive Federal Pell Grants.
- Nearly 1.5 million more students will receive the maximum Pell Grant.
- All students will be able to access the maximum financial aid for which they are eligible.

Better FAFSA Timeline for the 2024-25 Award Year

NOW	Students and families should complete and submit the 2024-25 FAFSA form
MARCH	The Department begins transmitting FAFSA information to schools and state agencies for processing
THIS SPRING	Colleges review FAFSA information for students who applied for admission Colleges start sending aid packages to students
JULY 1	FAFSA award year starts

Note: Students and families should check critical deadlines for their institutions and states regarding scholarships and enrollment commitments.

Checklist for Students

To access and fill out the 2024-25 FAFSA, create a StudentAid.gov account.

You'll need your Social Security Number, unless you are a citizen of the Freely Associated States.

Make sure your contributors create their own StudentAid.gov account, too.

"Contributor" refers to anyone required to provide information on the form, such as your parent(s) or spouse.

Invite contributors to your FAFSA form. You will be asked to provide their:

First and last name
Social Security Number
- Contributors who do not have a Social Security Number can still create a StudentAid.gov account to complete their section of the FAFSA form.
Date of birth
Email address (and mailing address, if contributors don't have a Social Security Number)

Have your documents ready and be prepared to complete the form in one session. Necessary forms could include:

2022 Tax returns*
Records of child support received
Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
Net worth of investments, businesses, and farms

After submitting your FAFSA, you'll receive financial aid offer letters from the colleges you selected later this spring

*Starting with the 2024 — 25 form, students can provide consent and approval so most financial information will be imported directly from the IRS. But you should keep your tax return handy for additional questions.

Last Updated: 2/16/2024