The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, has been around since 1992, but over the years the application has gone through some changes. The 2024-2025 FAFSA will see just that.

There are a lot of things to keep in mind when it comes to the upcoming FAFSA. One of the biggest changes that families should know, according to Jennifer Finetti, director of student advocacy with Scholarship Owl, is that the FAFSA is opening in December, instead of in October as it has in past years.

"The reason for the delay is because of all the other FAFSA changes that are taking place. So another really big change is that the FAFSA has been simplified. So it used to have 108 questions, which was really daunting and kind of deterred some families from completing the FAFSA. The new FAFSA has been whittled down to about 40 questions, so it's significant, certainly less," said Finetti.

She hopes that will encourage more families to complete the application. Another change is the calculation of how financial aid is determined. Finetti says in the past when families submitted the FAFSA, they got something called an expected family contribution number, or EFC number. She says that terminology was confusing to some, so now they’ll get a Student Aid Index or SAI number.

"So the new formula for determining financial aid is the cost of attendance of the college minus your essay or student aid index number minus any other financial assistance that the financial aid officer knows about at the time they’re determining your financial aid," she said.

That’s your financial need, and that leads to the college’s decision about what federal or state grants or scholarships from the college or university that a student might qualify for. Finetti says students from a single-family home, or students who are themselves single parents, may have increased eligibility for financial aid with the new FAFSA. For families that have multiple children in college at the same time, there’s some unfortunate news.

"Previously, if you had more than one child in college at the same time, that was considered a benefit financially," she said. "In other words, that family might qualify for greater financial aid. However, in the new FAFSA, they do not take the number of children in college into consideration."

Finetti says for lower-income families, it probably won’t hurt too much, but for a middle or upper-income family, you may have reduced eligibility for financial aid. She says this change was made to ensure financial aid was prioritized for the families most in need. Finetti says it’s really important to fill out the FAFSA, even if you have doubts or questions, especially with the new FAFSA.

"We don't really know yet if you're going to qualify," she said. "So especially this year, no one's really sure how this will impact them. So they should submit the FAFSA. Also, many universities require students to submit the FAFSA in order to be considered for university-level scholarships. So that's another reason to submit it, even if you don't think you're going to qualify."

If you are a parent and have questions regarding the FAFSA, you can call 1-800-433-3243. There are also numbers for students and those repaying loans, which can be found at studentaid.gov. A reminder that students find out their financial aid with admission or afterward. Finetti says it’s important to really understand your options for financial aid before you accept admission.