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Tip of the Week

March 29, 2023

Questions about questions

If you work in financial aid and have been reading about FAFSA Simplification, the draft 2024-25 FAFSA forms released on Monday probably yielded only a few surprises but probably some questions.

The Department of Education on Monday issued an Electronic Announcement, providing information about the draft 2024-25 FAFSA and instructions on how to comment on the new form. (Commenting on the new FAFSA form has been challenging due to the slow-loading Regulations.gov website – likely due to increased traffic as deadlines near for comments on other issues.)

Sure, the overall form will be different than the current FAFSA, but changes weren’t totally unexpected based on the requirements of the legislation mandating FAFSA Simplification.

A minor change that may have a big impact is the Department will be changing the name of the Student Aid Report (SAR) to the FAFSA Submission Summary. While I agree with this change, it will mean a lot of updates to printed materials and websites. The new name is probably more meaningful to students and parents.

A few other changes to note:

• Elimination of the save key
• Removal of ability to access a FAFSA form through student personal identifying information (PII)
• Limited skip logic
• Consent required for Federal Tax Information (FTI)
• List of colleges expanded (up to 20 on online form now)
• Elimination of the save key
• Elimination of the Data Retrieval Tool
• Collection of spouse information and use of roles (student, student spouse, parent, parent spouse, preparer)
• Unusual circumstances and special circumstances definitions aligned with Higher Education Act

Many of the comments so far on the Regulations.gov site concern the removal of the question about the student’s housing plans. The answer to that question, of course, is important for developing the Cost of Attendance. Some financial aid professionals are asking the Department to return the housing question to the FAFSA.

We are hoping for a “yes” answer to that question.

– By Catherine Mueller

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