In just a little over two months, the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be available. October 1, 2022, will begin the new FAFSA season, meaning high school seniors and returning college students will have the opportunity to apply for financial aid to help them pay their college expenses for the 2023-24 academic year.
Perhaps you’ve heard there are some major changes coming to the FAFSA application, including the way student eligibility will be calculated. Those changes ARE coming, but most are not scheduled to take effect for another year, beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA. So, what will be different this year?
If you’ve been following any news about the Consolidated Appropriations Act or the FAFSA Simplification Act, you may recall hearing about two student questions on the FAFSA that were scheduled to be removed—a question for males asking if they have registered for Selective Service and a question for any applicants who have been convicted of a drug-related offense while receiving federal financial aid. When the draft of the new FAFSA was released May 18, 2022, both of the questions had been removed. Because the Selective Service question had been removed, the gender question—Are you male or female?—had also been removed.
Keep in mind that the 2023-24 FAFSA has not yet been finalized, so anything is subject to change before October 1. However, it looks like these changes will be made as scheduled.
Stay tuned for more about the sweeping changes scheduled for the 2024-25 FAFSA. We’ll keep you posted!