November 6, 2023
K-State Office of Student Financial Assistance prepares for FAFSA simplification
The 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Financial Aid, or FAFSA, will usher in a wholesale reimagining of this critical student aid application since its inception in 1992.
Today, it remains the sole application for federal student assistance such as the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Work Study and federal student loans. Most institutions, including K-State, will also reference the results of the FAFSA in making a host of other, non-federal awards such as state and institutional grants and scholarships that require a certain level of financial need as an eligibility factor.
Under the FAFSA Simplification Act, the 2024-25 FAFSA will become simpler to complete. For most people, the application will shrink from more than 100 questions down to 36. One reason for the shortened form is that income information will be pulled directly from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. "Contributors" to the FAFSA will be required to provide consent for this data transfer for the FAFSA to be successfully submitted to the federal processor. Contributor is a new term for the student, the student's spouse, student's adoptive/biological parent, or student's stepparent.
The 2024-25 FAFSA will also be premised on an entirely new methodology to measure a student's household financial strength. The Estimated Family Contribution will be replaced with a new Student Aid Index.
The new FAFSA methodology, by referencing a student's family size as well as federal poverty levels, will also significantly expand the number of K-State undergraduate students who will qualify for a Federal Pell Grant in 2024-25 and forward.
Of note: With all the methodological changes that are being implemented with the 2024-25 FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education announced that its launch would also be delayed until December 2023. Under normal circumstances, the 2024-25 FAFSA would have already been made available as of Oct. 1 of this year.
K-State's Office of Student Financial Assistance is taking the following measures to assist prospective students, continuing students and the K-State community in navigating these new changes to the FAFSA:
- Specific changes to the 2024-25 FAFSA as well as FAQ.
- More than 18,000 emails to domestic, enrolled students for fall 2023 sent referencing the published website and encouraging the filing of the FAFSA by K-State's FAFSA priority date of March 1, 2024.
- With the launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA, the office will publish short, FAFSA-specific videos highlighting best practices to optimize student aid opportunities.
- The office will collaborate with K-State Extension in disseminating FAFSA simplification information across the state.
Contact the Office of Student Financial Assistance directly at finaid@k-state.edu or 785-532-6420, or stop by Enrollment Management Central, 119 Anderson Hall, during regular business hours.