For the 2024-25 school year, a few changes were made to the FAFSA, including a switch from the Expected Family Contribution to the Student Aid Index. The SAI doesn’t count the number of family members in college, considers family farms and businesses, and creates separate eligibility criteria for Pell grants. Other changes include making the FAFSA shorter, now with fewer questions, and students may now add up to 20 colleges. 

But what is the FAFSA?

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is a tool designed to help finance students’ education. Once it is filed with the federal government, they will examine the student’s financial situation by taking a look at the household income of the student’s parents to determine what type of financial aid the students can acquire. 

Who fills it out?

Every student planning on attending some type of postsecondary education is required to fill out the FAFSA. It must be done every year. And the government now requires high schools to make sure 100% of their senior class has filled it out. 

How do you fill it out?

Completing the FAFSA is a cumbersome task, but each time you do it, it gets a little easier and faster. It is filled out fully online and can be found at studentaid.gov. There, you’ll complete all the questions, which will require your financial and other government documents. 

There are a lot of tools and resources meant to make this process easier. Here at South, we have the advantage of Ivy Tech, who holds GoFAFSA Sundays, where if you go in, with all the necessary documents, they will fill it out with you. 

According to the Student Aid website, these are the documents that you will need when filling out the FAFSA:

• Your parents’ SSNs (if they have them and you’re a dependent)
• Tax returns
• Records of child support received
• Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
• Net worth of investments, businesses, and farms

While there is no set deadline for when you need to have it filled out, it is recommended that you have the FAFSA filled out sooner rather than later if you plan on attending college. 

Why should you fill out the FAFSA?

The FAFSA gives students access to all the financial resources they may need going forward. From grants to access to student loans, the FAFSA is meant to financially support students in college in any means that they may qualify.  Now some families have a high enough income that they don’t deem it necessary to fill out since they don’t plan on needing financial assistance, but if their student gets any scholarships or grants, it is necessary to file in order to accept those.