FAFSA Simplification

• The number of questions will be reduced and the application will maximize the use of previously collected data.
• Students will be able to list up to 20 schools on their FAFSA via the online application.
• The Student Aid Index (SAI) will replace the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
• The Cost of Attendance (COA) will be the starting point for calculating the SAI. COA includes direct costs (charges for which the university bills you directly) and estimated indirect costs (living expenses) to fund educational expenses for a year.
• Foster, homeless, and unaccompanied youth—as well as applicants who cannot provide parental information—will be able to complete the form with a provisional independent student determination and receive a calculated SAI.
• Anyone asked to provide information on the aid application—student, spouse, student’s parent(s) and/or stepparents(s)—is called a “contributor” to the application.
• Students, spouses, parents, and stepparents (contributors) will now need to provide their consent to provide their Federal Tax Information (FTI) in the new Consent to Retrieve and Disclose Federal Tax Information section of the FAFSA for federal student aid eligibility.
• A direct data share with the IRS will replace what is currently known as the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT).
• If any contributor to the FAFSA form does not provide consent, submission of the form will still be allowed. However, a Student Aid Index (SAI) will not be calculated.
• The Custodial Parent on your FAFSA will be the parent(s) who provided you with more financial support, instead of the parent(s) with whom you lived more during the past 12 months.
• There will be two-step verification and all FAFSA contributors must have an FSA ID to log into the online form. There will be a new process to get an FSA ID for parents and spouses without a Social Security number.
• Applicants will be asked to report their sex, race, and ethnicity on the FAFSA itself, but students will be offered a choice of “Prefer Not to Answer.” Schools and state agencies won’t see responses to these questions on the FAFSA.

Students and families will see a different measure of their ability to pay for college, and they will experience a change in the methodology used to determine aid.

• The formula for calculating the Student Aid Index (SAI) is: COA – SAI = financial need.

• The new need-analysis formula:
  • removes the number of family members in college from the calculation,
  • allows a minimum SAI of -$1,500,
  • implements separate eligibility determination criteria for Federal Pell Grants based on federal poverty levels and family size.

• Child support received will be included in assets and not as untaxed income.

• Families who own a small business/farm that also serves as primary residence will now have assets of that business/farm considered in their need-analysis calculation

The SAI is a number that determines each student’s eligibility for certain types of federal student aid and will replace the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

• SAI will determine eligibility for all aid except for determining minimum and maximum Pell Grants.

• Pell Grant will be based on Dependency, Marital Status, adjusted gross income (AGI), Poverty Level, and Enrollment Status.

• EFC could never go below 0, but the SAI can be as low as negative $1,500 (-$1,500).

• SAI formula removes the state and other tax income exclusion.

• SAI formula eliminates the family farm and small business asset exclusions–families have to report.

• Income protection allowances are updated to higher amounts.

• Number in college is eliminated so that SAI will not take into consideration the number of family members in college.

• For FAFSA filers with divorced parents, the parent who should file the FAFSA is the one who provided a greater portion of student’s financial support and no longer who the student lived with the most.