What's New in Financial Aid
- Our Facebook handle is @mccfinancialaid1. We would love to hear from you!
- The 2024/25 FAFSA is now available for the Fall 2024, Spring and Summer 2025 school year!
- Be sure to have your 2022 tax information and FSA ID on hand to complete the FAFSA
What’s Changed for the 2024–25 FAFSA® Form?
- 2024/2025 FAFSA Changes
- On Dec. 27, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The law includes provisions regarding the FAFSA Simplification Act—a sweeping redesign of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid. Specifically, the law makes it easier for students and families to complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA® ) form as well as expands access to federal student aid. Due to the significant changes, the FAFSA opening date for the 2024-2025 award year will be delayed to December 2023.
- FAFSA Contributors (A contributor is anyone who is asked to provide information on an applicant’s FAFSA).
- The new FAFSA is student driven, so that means the student's answers on their section will determine who will be a contributor (in addition to the student). Students will need the contributor’s name, date of birth, Social Security Number (SSN), and email address to invite them to complete the required portion of the FAFSA. Contributors will need to provide personal and financial information on their section of the FAFSA.
- All contributors are required to have an FSA ID and to provide consent to have their Federal Tax Information (FTI) transferred from the IRS, have their tax data used to determine a student's eligibility for federal student aid, and allow the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to share their tax information with institutions and state higher education agencies for the administration of Title IV aid. Consent is provided once for the award year and cannot be revoked in that award year. This consent is necessary even if the contributor does not have an SSN, did not file taxes, or filed taxes in another country.
- If a dependent student's parents are unmarried and living together, both parents will be contributors, will need to have separate FSA IDs, and need to provide consent. Dependent students whose parents filed their U.S. income tax return as Married Filing Jointly only require one parent contributor to complete the FAFSA. If the student's parents filed separately, both parents will be considered contributors and therefore need separate FSA IDs, and both must provide consent.
- If an independent student is married and filed separately, both individuals are contributors, must have FSA IDs, and must provide consent for the student to be eligible for Title IV aid.
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- For dependent students, the parent with whom the student lived the most in the past 12 months prior to filing the FAFSA, is no longer a criterion in cases of divorced or separated parents. For divorced or separated parents, income and assets are reported for the parent who provides the most financial support even if the student does not live with that parent or lives with the other parent.
- IRS Data Retrieval Tool will be replaced with the Direct Data Exchange (DDX).
- EVERYONE (students, spouses (if applicable), and parents) will need to consent to have their Federal Tax Information (FTI) imported into the FTI module.
- To provide consent, the individual will need to access the FAFSA with an FSA ID that has been matched with the Social Security Administration (SSA).
- Federal tax filers will have their tax information imported into the FTI module. No tax income will transfer into the FAFSA, but tax data will be sent to the colleges listed on the FAFSA.
- Non-tax filers must also check the box to consent. When IRS Data is accessed, the process will verify non-filing status.
- The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI)
- Students and families will see a different measure of their ability to pay for college and experience a change in the methodology used to determine aid.
- No benefit for having siblings in college: Previously, the FAFSA divided the EFC proportionally based on the number of household members in college. The elimination of this "sibling discount" will be the biggest change in aid eligibility for some students. The SAI will not use the number in college as a factor in calculation of eligibility. The determination to no longer consider number in college was made by Congress and can only be changed by Congress.
- Pell Grant Eligibility
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Pell Grant eligibility will be determined in three steps:
1. Maximum Pell Grant – Applicants may qualify for a Maximum Pell Grant based on family size, adjusted gross income (AGI), and poverty guidelines. Students qualifying for a Maximum Pell Grant will have an SAI between negative $1,500 (-$,1500) and $0.
2. Student Aid Index (SAI) – Applicants who do not qualify for a Maximum Pell Grant may still qualify if their calculated SAI is less than the maximum Pell Grant award for the award year. The applicant’s Pell Grant award for full-time enrollment will be equal to the maximum Pell Grant for the award year minus SAI. The Pell Grant will be adjusted (prorated) if an applicant enrolls in less than full time, or if the applicant’s Cost of Attendance (COA) is less than the calculated Pell Grant award.
3. Minimum Pell Grant – Applicants whose SAI is greater than the maximum Pell Grant award for the award year may still qualify for a Pell Grant, based on family size, AGI, and poverty guidelines.
- Non- Filers – Independent student (and spouse, if applicable) tax non-filers and dependent children of non-filing parent (s)
- Children of certain deceased veterans and public safety officers- Students under age 33 whose parent died in the armed forces after September 11, 2001, and or students under age 33 whose parent (s) died in the line of duty as a public safety officer
Automatic Pell Grants based on income household and size : Families making less than 175% and single parents making less than 225% of the federal poverty level will see their students receive a maximum Pell grant award. Minimum Pell Grants will be guaranteed to students from households below 275%, 325%, 350%, or 400% of the federal poverty level, depending on household structure. Pell awards between the maximum and minimum amounts will be determined by SAI.Once the annual Federal Pell Grant is determined, half of the award will be offered in each semester of the award year and will be prorated by Enrollment Intensity instead of Enrollment Levels.
Credit Hours Enrollment Level (Old) Enrollment Intensity (New) 12 (or more) Full-Time (100%) 100% 11 Three-Quarter Time (75%) 92% 10 83% 9 75% 8 Half-Time (50%) 67% 7 58% 6 50% 5 Less-Than-Half-Time (25%) 42% 4 33% 3 25% 2 17% 1 8%
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- Year-Round Pell Grant
- Previously, a Pell Grant-eligible student must have been enrolled at least half-time in a payment period during which they received more than 100% of their scheduled award. Beginning with the 2024-2025 award year, half-time enrollment is no longer required.
- Special Circumstances
- Both first-time and renewal applicants who indicate on their FAFSA form that they have an unusual circumstance will be granted provisional independent status. They will be able to complete the form without providing parental information. They will also receive an estimate of their federal student aid eligibility, which will be subject to a final determination by the institution they attend. If a student's institution approves their unusual circumstances, their independent status will carry over when they renew their FAFSA form in future award years, and they will be considered independent for as long as they remain at the same institution and their circumstances remain unchanged.
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