According to the U.S. Department of Education, the improved FAFSA form will be available for students to complete by December 31, 2023. While the actual go-live date is not specified, this means students should not expect to be able to complete a FAFSA until that date.

The federal government estimates that they will need approximately one month of processing time before your completed FAFSA will be sent to EKU. This means that students are unlikely to have a complete financial aid package offered to them (if eligible) before February 2024.

A shorter, more streamlined FAFSA

The FAFSA will feature fewer questions and requirements, making it easier for students and contributors to complete. It will also retrieve tax information using a direct data exchange from the IRS to the US Department of Education instead of the previous IRS Data Retrieval Tool. This will require all users to provide consent to allow Federal Tax Information to link to the FAFSA application to calculate aid eligibility as well as redisclose that information to certain eligible entities, such as higher education institutions.

New Terminology

The FAFSA is introducing the new term “contributor”, which refers to anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FAFSA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent’s spouse. Every contributor will need an FSA ID to access, consent, and complete their section of the online form. Being a contributor does not imply responsibility for the student’s college costs.

Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) is now the Student Aid Index (SAI)

The new need analysis formula removes the number of family members in college from the calculation, allows a minimum SAI of -1,500, and implements separate eligibility determination criteria for Federal Pell Grants. This change is meant to expand access to Pell Grants, as the previous EFC only went as low as zero. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 610,000 new students from low-income backgrounds will be eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants due to updates to student aid calculations.