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Florida International University

Financial Aid Updates for New Students

FAFSA Simplification

The FAFSA Simplification Act represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024–25 award year. This includes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, need calculation, and many policies and procedures for schools that participate in federal student aid programs.

FAFSA changes for 2024-2025

FAFSA Completion Date

  • The FAFSA for the 2024-2025 academic year became available on December 31, 2023. Please note that this is a temporary adjustment; in future years, the FAFSA will open on October 1st.
  • We encourage all students to submit their 2024-2025 FAFSA by March 1st to ensure sufficient time for processing your financial aid offer. Due to delays experienced at Federal Student Aid, schools will not begin receiving processed FAFSA applications until Mid-April. Following this, FIU will promptly provide a financial aid offer to new freshmen. 

Streamlined Application Process

  • The new FAFSA will feature fewer questions, fewer requirements, and retrieve tax information using a direct data exchange from the IRS instead of the previous IRS Data Retrieval Tool.

New Terminology

  • The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will now be referred to as the Student Aid Index (SAI). The new formula removes the number of family members in college from the calculation, allows a minimum SAI of -1500, and implements a separate eligibility determination criterion for Federal Pell Grants.
  • The new FAFSA introduces the term contributor, which refers to anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FAFSA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent’s spouse. Being a contributor does not imply responsibility for the student's college costs.
  • The student aid report will now be referred to as the FAFSA Submission Summary, offering an overview of the information students report on the FAFSA.
  • The household size will now be referred to as Family size.
  • Federal Tax Information: refers to financial data and information related to federal taxes. This includes tax return information obtained directly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or through an authorized secondary sources such as the U.S. Department of Education.
  • FAFSA Privacy Act Consent: Formal consent provided by an applicant and any applicable contributor (s) for a given FAFSA cycle that meets the statutory requirements of collecting and using an individual’s personally-identifiable information (PII)

Expanding Pell Grant Eligibility

  • Federal Pell Grant eligibility is expanded to more students and will link eligibility to family size and the federal poverty level.  

Prepare for the FAFSA

  • Create an FSA ID on the Federal Student Aid website and assist contributors, such as your parent(s) or spouse, in creating an FSA ID.
    • An FSA ID is an account and password that gives you access to the Federal Student Aid’s online system and serves as your electronic signature.
    • With the FSA ID, you can fill out the FAFSA, sign your Master Promissory Note (MPN), apply for repayment plans, complete loan counseling, and use the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Help Tool.
    • If you already have an FSA ID, there is no need to create a new one.  Your existing FSA ID will continue to work.
Last updated: May 6, 2024