The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act was passed by Congress in 2020. This act broadens the pool of students eligible for federal aid and it also streamlines the application process for students and their families.

FAFSA is your application for financial aid and it determines your 申请助学金、贷款和勤工俭学的资格. It updates every year, but the 2024-2025 FAFSA holds the most significant changes in several years.

FAFSA简化的好处包括：

• 更精简的申请流程
• 扩大获得联邦学生援助的资格
• Reduced barriers for certain student populations (e.g. homeless and unaccompanied youth, incarcerated students, 英语 language learners, and students from low-income backgrounds)
• 为FAFSA表单提供更好的用户体验

学生资助指数（SAI）将取代预期家庭贡献（EFC）。 There is a minimum SAI of -1500, and the new FAFSA process implements separate eligibility determination criteria for Federal Pell Grants.

The revised FAFSA will have fewer questions, less requirements, and will be easier to complete.

The FAFSA Simplification Act will expand the Federal Pell Grant to more students by linking eligibility to family size and federal poverty levels. The new need analysis formula removes the number of family members in college from the calculation, but this should not impact most students, as the new calculation will consider the entire makeup of the family as part of the index.

Both students and parents/guardians who are required to file a US tax return must approve and consent for the IRS to provide tax information directly to the Department of 教育 through a direct data exchange with the online FAFSA application.

2024-2025 FAFSA要到2023年12月才会生效。 This change in the application’s opening will only be relevant for this year. 对于2025-2026年的FAFSA， FAFSA的开始日期将恢复到2024年10月1日。

We want you to know that financial aid offers will not include federal aid until after FAFSA has opened. Updated financial aid offers will be emailed to students after the completion of their FAFSA.