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Applying for Financial Aid�2024-2025 Academic Year

Sean Martin

Director of Financial Aid Services

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Theme for 2024-25

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Topics we will discuss

Big changes for academic year 2024-2025!
Cost of Attendance (COA)
Student Aid Index (SAI)/Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Financial Need
Categories, types and sources of financial aid
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Institutional Aid
PACT

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Key Federal Student Aid (FSA) terms that have changed or are new for 2024-2025�Terms Financial Aid Administrators & Counselors are going to constantly mix up this year�

Student Aid Index (SAI) replaces Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
FAFSA Contributor
FTI (Federal Tax Information)
Family Size replaces Household Size
FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FADDX) replaces IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT)
FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) replaces Student Aid Report (SAR)
Housing and Food replaces Room and Board
Financial Aid Offer (or Financial Aid Package) replaces Financial Aid Award

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Definition of financial aid need

Cost of Attendance

Student Aid Index (SAI)/Family Contribution

Financial aid need

LESS

EQUALS

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Cost of Attendance (COA)

Varies widely from college to college

Includes:

Direct Costs

Tuition and Fees
Housing and Food (Room and Board)

Indirect Costs

Books, Supplies, Course Materials, and Equipment
Transportation
Miscellaneous and Personal Expenses

May also include federal loan fees

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What is Student Aid Index (SAI)?�Formerly known as Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

Amount a family can reasonably be expected to contribute
Two components

Parent Contribution
Student Contribution

Federal SAI calculated from FAFSA data

Uses a federal formula
Can now be a negative number – however, negative SAI’s translate to $0 for aid packaging/awarding – a negative SAI does not mean you are eligible for, or can be offered aid in excess of the Cost of Attendance

Institutional SAI/Family Contribution calculated using data from the college’s required documentation

Formulas specific to each college

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Comparison of need by cost

	4 Year Private	4 Year Public	2 Year Public
Cost of Attendance	$60,000	$25,000	$ 7,000
Student Aid Index (SAI)/Family Contribution	$10,000	$10,000	$10,000
Need	$50,000	$15,000	0

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Meeting the full calculated need versus “gapping”

College	A	B
Cost of Attendance	$60,000	$60,000
SAI/Family Contribution	$ 10,000	$ 10,000
Need	$50,000	$50,000
Aid Awarded	$50,000	$35,000
Unmet Need	0	$15,000

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Types of student financial aid

Grants & Scholarships

Money that does not have to be paid back

Loans

Do need to be paid back
Only borrow what is really needed
Federal Direct Undergraduate Student Loans

Subsidized: need-based, interest does not accrue while the student is enrolled
Unsubsidized: interest does accrue
Loan limits based on year in college, level of need, & dependency status
Interest & origination fee determined annually by Congress

2023-2024 interest for both: 5.50%, fee: 1.057%

Work Study

Allows student to earn money to help pay educational costs

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Federal Student Aid eligibility requirements

U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen
Have a valid social security number
Must be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible degree or certificate program
Must have a high school diploma or an equivalent
While enrolled in college, must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

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Studentaid.gov

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FAFSA�Free Application for Federal Student Aid

A standard form that collects demographic and financial information about the student and their family
Used to determine eligibility for federal and state aid
Formula is determined by Congress
Required by all schools
Must be completed annually

Big changes this year!
Uses 2022 tax return & income data
Available sometime in December 2023

Follow Federal Student Aid (FSA) on social media or check Studentaid.gov regularly over the coming months for more information

FAFSA 2024-2025

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FAFSA online�www.fafsa.gov (https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa)

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Federal Student Aid Index (SAI) Components

Parent(s)’ income – includes both taxable and some types of untaxed

Includes far less types of untaxed income than in previous years

Student’s (& spouse’s, if applicable) income – includes both taxable and some types of untaxed
Value of parent assets (at the time of FAFSA completion)

Does include trusts, investment properties, % of primary residence that is rented out, and balance of 529 plans set up by the parent on FAFSA

Now also includes child support received (used to be income, now considered an asset)

Doesn’t include value of retirement accounts or primary residence home equity on FAFSA

Value of student’s assets (at the time of FAFSA completion)

Does include trusts if the student is a beneficiary and UGMA/UTMA accounts
Doesn’t include 529 plans

Family Size

FSA calculation no longer takes into consideration number of dependents attending college at the same time

Value of family business(es)/farm(s)

Now must be reported in all cases, regardless of size

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Federal definition of a parent

Only custodial parent (a.k.a. parent of record or primary parent) information is required on FAFSA

No information required from the non-custodial parent
If custodial parent is remarried, step-parent financial information must be included

If student’s parents live together (regardless of marital status) financial information from both parents must be reported
The following people are not the student’s parents unless they have legally adopted the student: grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older siblings, uncles & aunts, etc.

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Which parent goes on the FAFSA if the parents are divorced or separated and living apart?

Federal Student Aid definition of the parent of record (a.k.a. custodial parent) changed for academic year 2024-2025:

Parent who provided the greater portion of the student's financial support during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA
If neither parent provided support in the 12-month period, the parent of record is the parent who provided the greater portion of support during the most recent year that the student received financial support from a parent
The parent who pays child support should include the amount of child support paid during the relevant 12-month period when determining how much support they provided to the student (not the parent who received the child support)

If this child support, along with any other support provided for the child, adds up to more than 50 percent of the support of the child, then the parent paying child support is the parent of record on the FAFSA

If both parents claim an equal amount of support, then the parent of record is the parent with the greater amount of income or assets
Now irrelevant where the student lives

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FSA account username & password (FSA ID)

Used for FAFSA completion and access to certain U.S. Department of Education websites
Student and parent(s) must create their own FSA IDs

If parents filed joint tax return in 2022, only one parent needs an FSA ID to complete the FAFSA

Will be used throughout the financial aid process, including subsequent �school years & to sign loan documents
Only the owner should create an FSA ID

Attached to your Social Security Number and identification – do not share with anyone

Get your FSA IDs now

https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
Will need

Your Social Security Number (verify with your Social Security Card)
Your own mobile phone number and/or email address

Do not use the student’s high school email address

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Completing the 24-25 FAFSA - Contributors

NEW roles/contributors based process

Contributors include anyone that must provide information on the student’s FAFSA

Student
Student spouse (if applicable)
One parent if parents are married and filed their 2022 tax return jointly, or if parent is single & living apart from noncustodial parent
Two parents if parents are married but file separate tax returns, or are unmarried but live together

Contributors will need to be invited to provide information on the student’s FAFSA by whoever begins the FAFSA process (student or parent)

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Completing the 24-25 FAFSA – �Inviting Contributors

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Completing the 24-25 FAFSA – �Tax Return Information

NEW Federal Tax Information (FTI) will be transferred from the IRS to the FAFSA in all cases

Transfer process is called FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FADDX)
Contributors must provide consent for the IRS to transfer their FTI to the FAFSA

In every case including:

Non-tax filers
Contributors who don’t have a Social Security Number

If a contributor does not provide their consent, the student will not be eligible for federal need based financial aid

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Completing the 24-25 FAFSA – Family Size

Now uses IRS definition of dependents on a tax return

For dependent student’s parent(s), family size includes:

Parent (and their spouse)
Student
Parent’s dependent children, even if they live apart from parent because of college enrollment, if parent will provide more than half their support between July 1 and June 30 of FAFSA award year
Other people if they live with parent and parent will provide more than half their support between July 1 and June 30 of FAFSA award year

Family Size is considered FTI and will transfer from the IRS

Based on the dependents you claimed that year
Can be updated manually when completing the FAFSA if necessary

Number of dependents in college will still be asked on the FAFSA but it will not be considered in the SAI calculation

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After completing the FAFSA

Federal Student Aid runs each FAFSA through a series of federal databases to verify information reported
Within 3 business days, the schools listed on the student’s FAFSA will have access to an electronic record of the FAFSA data
The federal processor also sends the student’s information to the state agency (or agencies) in the student’s state of legal residence, and the states in which the schools listed on the student’s FAFSA are located
A student can check the processing status of their FAFSA by logging in to their studentaid.gov account

Including contributor progress and corrections made to their FAFSA

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FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS)�formerly Student Aid Report (SAR)

After the FAFSA has been processed, the student will have access to a summary of their FAFSA data including:

An overview of their estimated federal financial aid eligibility

Ultimately, eligibility is determined by the college financial aid administrator

The answers provided by the student and their contributor(s) on their FAFSA form
Information about each school the student listed on their FAFSA
Next Steps

Pay close attention to FAFSA comments provided here!

They may call attention to errors in a student or contributor’s reporting on the FAFSA, additional documentation the student must submit to their school, or corrections that must be made to the student’s FAFSA

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Correcting the FAFSA

Corrections can be made after the FAFSA has been submitted and processed
Will not be able to correct most Federal Tax Information (FTI) transferred from IRS data
Do not make too many corrections

Assets should be corrected only if an error was made; they should not be updated as accounts fluctuate.

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Institutional Financial Aid

Need or non-need based financial aid from the college’s own funds awarded based on the institution’s formula and policies
Based on information provided on the CSS Profile or a custom institutional application as well as supporting documentation required by the college
Information from the non-custodial parent is generally required
Types of untaxed income not counted on the FAFSA may be included
Tax losses may be added back
Depreciation associated with a business or investment property may be added back
There may be a minimum student contribution
Allowances for number of dependents enrolled in college at the same time may or may not be offered, and if offered, at different amounts

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Institutional Financial Aid:�Where do I start?

Learn each college’s financial aid application requirements and deadline date(s)
Use the Net Price Calculator available on each college’s web site
Contact the college’s financial aid office with any questions, or if you need additional clarification on their policies or requirements

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Net Price Calculator

Will help you estimate how much financial aid may be offered from each school
Carefully read all instructions and pop-ups

A Net Price Calculator result is only as good as the data you input

All calculators are not alike

Each college builds theirs based on their policies.

Don’t forget untaxed income if they are including it

Pay close attention to their definition of untaxed income and what that may or may not include

ie. Payments to tax deferred pension plans (W2, Box 12 codes D, E, F, G, H & S – NOT DD)

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CSS Profile

Offered by CollegeBoard
Not required by all schools
Used to determine eligibility for need-based institutional grants
There is a cost

A fee waiver is available to some families. Eligibility for a fee waiver is determined by the CSS Profile

If applicable, the non-custodial parent will complete a separate Profile after the custodial Profile has been submitted
Became available October 1

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Institutional Documentation Service (IDOC)

Offered by CollegeBoard
Many schools that participate in the CSS Profile also participate in IDOC
A family will upload or send their required application documentation (ie. tax returns & W2s) to IDOC. IDOC will then make the documentation available to all schools the student has indicated they are applying to who participate in the service

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