Filing the FAFSA

The 2024-25 FAFSA will be available by December 31, 2023. We encourage all students to file the FAFSA as soon as possible, but preferably before MSU's priority deadline of February 1, 2024.

Upon completing the FAFSA, filers will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, previously called the Student Aid Report. The FAFSA Submission Summary contains the following key pieces of information: Your estimated eligibility for federal financial aid, your Student Aid Index (formerly known as the Expected Family Contribution, or EFC), and whether you have been selected for verification.

It is important to know that MSU will not receive any information regarding your FAFSA until late January. For this reason, we will not be able to communicate to students until that information is sent by the U.S. Department of Education to our institution.

There are a number of benefits of the FAFSA simplification act, including a more streamlined application process and a better user experience for the FAFSA, expanded eligibility for federal student aid, and reduced barriers for certain student populations (e.g., homeless and unaccompanied youth, incarcerated students, English language learners, and students from low-income backgrounds).

Some fundamental changes include, but are not limited to:

The FAFSA will be shorter and more user-friendly

The FAFSA will reduce the maximum number of questions from 108 to 46. Because of the logic built into the FAFSA website, some students won’t even have to answer all 46 questions. This will simplify the application process.

Contributors must provide financial information

A contributor—a new term for the 2024-25 FAFSA—refers to anyone who is required to provide information on a student's form (such as a parent/stepparent or spouse). A student's or parent's answers on the FAFSA will determine which contributors (if any) will be required to provide information.

Contributors will receive an email informing them that they've been identified as such, and will need to log in using their own FSA ID (if they don't already have one) to provide the required information on the student's FAFSA.

Being a contributor does not mean they are financially responsible for the student's education costs, but it does mean the contributor must provide information on the FAFSA or the application will be incomplete and the student will not be eligible for federal student aid.

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is replacing Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

Expected Family Contribution was a misleading label for a family’s ability to pay. The name suggested that the government expected the family to pay that amount, so it was changed to Student Aid Index (SAI) to more accurately describe the number used to determine aid eligibility.

Applicants will be required to use the IRS Direct Data Exchange (IRSDDX)

Previously, users had the option to enter their tax information manually or use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. Beginning with 2024-25, all persons on the FAFSA must provide consent for the Department of Education to receive tax information or confirmation of non-filing status directly from the IRS. In a very small number of cases, students and families will have to enter their tax data manually, but for most, that data will be automatically transferred into the application. This change makes it easier to complete the FAFSA and reduces the number of questions to be answered.

Students may list up to 20 colleges

Previously, the FAFSA only allowed students to list up to 10 colleges and universities.

Some students will automatically be awarded a Pell Grant

Families making less than 175% and single parents making less than 225% of the federal poverty level (https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-poverty-level-fpl/) will see their students receive a maximum Federal Pell Grant award. Minimum Pell Grants will be guaranteed to students from households below 275%, 325%, 350%, or 400% of the poverty level, depending upon the household structure. Pell awards between the maximum and minimum amounts will be determined by SAI.

The parent responsible for submitting the FAFSA in cases of divorce or separation has changed

For dependent students (https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out#determining-your-dependency-status) , financial information was previously needed from the parent(s) the student had lived with the most in the last 12 months. With the new FAFSA, financial information will be required from the parent(s) who provided the most financial support to the student.

Family Farms and small businesses must be reported as assets

Families must now report the value of their small business or family farm. If the family farm includes the principal place of residence, applicants should determine the total net value of all farm assets and subtract the net value of their principal residence to determine the final value of their farm assets.

The number in college will not be used to calculate SAI

Previously, the FAFSA calculated the number of household members attending college into the EFC, dividing it proportionately to determine federal aid eligibility. Beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA, the application will still ask how many household members are in college, but your answer will not be calculated into the SAI. However, you can request an adjustment (Professional Judgment) from the Financial Aid Office if you have more than one family member in college.

The FAFSA will be available in more languages

Currently, the FAFSA was only available in English and Spanish. The 2024-25 FAFSA will be available in 11 languages!

Your FSA ID is a username and password combination that allows you to sign your FAFSA form electronically. Your FSA ID is also be used to access the myStudentAid app, sign loan contracts, and access certain information online.

While you can get your FSA ID as you’re completing the FAFSA form online, getting it ahead of time and using it to fill out the FAFSA form on fafsa.gov or on the myStudentAid mobile app cuts down on errors and delays. Find out how to get an FSA ID and what to do if you forgot your FSA ID.

Important note: Regardless whether you're a dependent or independent student, all your FAFSA Contributors whose information is reported on the FAFSA form will also need an FSA ID so that they can sign your application electronically.

An FSA ID can be created online at https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch.

If you forgot your FSA ID username, you can retrieve it at https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/retrieve-username.

If you forgot your FSA ID password, you can reset it at https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in/account-lookup.

A contributor refers to anyone (you, your spouse, your biological or adoptive parent, or your parent's spouse) who's required to provide information on your 2024–25 FAFSA form.

If your legal parents (biological or adoptive parents) are married to each other, or are not married to each other and live together, you should report information about both of them on your FAFSA form. However, many situations are a little more complicated, so please refer to this provided information on how to figure out which parent(s) should provide information on the 2024–25 FAFSA form as a contributor.

The FAFSA questions ask for information about you (your name, date of birth, address, etc.) and about your financial situation. Depending on your circumstances (for instance, whether you’re a U.S. citizen or what tax form you used), you might need the following information or documents as you fill out the FAFSA application:

• Your Social Security number (it’s important that you enter it correctly on the FAFSA form!)
• Your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are a dependent student
• Your driver’s license number if you have one
• Your Alien Registration number if you are not a U.S. citizen
• Federal tax information or tax returns including IRS W-2 information, for you (and your spouse, if you are married), and for your parents if you are a dependent student:
  • IRS 1040
  • Foreign tax return or IRS 1040NR
  • Tax return for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau
• Records of your untaxed income, such as child support received, interest income, and veterans noneducation benefits, for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student
• Information on cash; savings and checking account balances; investments, including stocks and bonds and real estate (but not including the home in which you live); and business and farm assets for you, and for your parents if you are a dependent student.

The FAFSA form asks a series of questions that determine whether you are a dependent or independent student for purposes of applying for federal student aid. If you are a dependent student, you must report parent information, as well as your own information, on your application. If you’re curious, you can find out now whether you’re a dependent student.