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Important changes to 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid

The 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is being simplified due to legislation and the university’s financial aid and scholarships teams would like to remind the campus community of these important changes.

  • FAFSA simplification results in fewer questions for students to answer on the application and a simplified calculation that will increase the number of Pell eligible students. This might be useful information to share with students who previously filed a FAFSA but didn’t file it again because they didn’t initially qualify for any grants.
  • The application is updating the language from Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to Student Aid Index (SAI). Students with the highest need may see a negative number for their SAI.
  • The FAFSA will provide the option for students to indicate they have unusual circumstances and request additional guidance from the financial aid office.
  • The FAFSA will no longer ask students about their housing plans for the academic year; however, Boise State will collect this information separately to ensure students are provided an accurate financial aid offer.
  • For 2024-25, the FAFSA is currently slated to open by December 31. In future years it will return to being available October 1. Boise State will not receive FAFSA data from Federal Student Aid until late January 2024. At this time, Boise State is not expecting to change the February 15 priority deadline. Updates will be provided when more information is available.
  • The FAFSA will no longer exclude the reporting of assets for small businesses and family farms (on which the family lives). Boise State will be monitoring the impact of this change on students.
  • Students will no longer be able to complete the FAFSA on behalf of their parent or spouse. Students will invite “contributors” by email and parents or spouses will provide their own information via that invitation.
  • Parents or spouses without Social Security Numbers will be able to create an FSA ID to electronically sign the FAFSA. This new process will confirm identity through the credit bureau – TransUnion. If a parent or spouse doesn’t sign the FAFSA electronically, the signature page must be mailed directly to Federal Student Aid. Schools will no longer be able to process paper signature pages directly.