By Catherine Brown, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy
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Note: Since this article was originally published, FSA has announced that the Better FAFSA will open by December 31, 2023.
Are you working to prepare your state for the release of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), also known as the Better FAFSA? If so, we present a new state policy toolkit and hope that this resource will be useful to you! Developed in partnership with National College Attainment Network (NCAN) member uAspire, the toolkit contains action steps, state-specific information,
strategies, and templates to help make it easier for you to support your state as it makes this significant transition to the new FAFSA form and process.
The delay in the 2024-25 FAFSA could have significant ramifications for underserved students who will have less time to complete the form than usual. State agencies, school districts, institutions, and school and college access counselors will need to
adjust their plans and systems to support all students in completing the form on time. This toolkit is aimed at supporting that work. It includes:
A set of recommended action steps for state leaders, including push back the state financial aid deadline to provide the greatest possible cushion for students.
Key information about state financial aid programs, including the current deadline for state aid programs, whether the programs are first-come, first-serve, whether the
state has a universal FAFSA policy, and other pieces of information that will help a state-focused organization develop a strategy for preparing for the delay.
A communications plan highlighting key messages to be delivered to specific stakeholder groups.
A shareable “Myths and Facts” document about the Better FAFSA aimed at dispelling common misperceptions.
Outreach tools for students and families, including a flyer for school counselors and a how-to guide for using the newly released
Pell Look-Up Tables.
Customizable coalition letters for state agencies/legislators and institutions with a set of recommendations for them to take to ease the transition for students and families.
The toolkit will be a living resource, and we will update the information contained within and add additional resources throughout the year as we move closer to the FAFSA release date. If you have a suggestion for a resource that you’d like to see added,
please don’t hesitate to reach out to NCAN Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy Catherine Brown at brownc@ncan.org.
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