The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) team wishes you a Happy New Year! As we start 2024, NCAN is reflecting on all we accomplished in 2023, including our top blog posts that grabbed the attention of our readers, members, and the communities
we serve. Want to catch up on any blogs? You can find all of them on this web page.
The US Department of Education announced that the 2024-25
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) would launch by December 31, 2023. FAFSA has been known to open on October 1 since 2016, meaning that students have three fewer months to complete the form this cycle. This announcement aimed to exclaim
that the newly revised application would meet the federal statutory requirement to open prior to January 1, 2024.
The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) released a series
of Pell Look-Up Tables aimed to help students better understand their likely Pell Grant award in advance to applying to college. These tables are a key early awareness tool for NCAN members, students, and families to use to better understand how much
federal grant aid they can expect to receive for college.
With the delay of the new FAFSA as it was expected to be released
by December 31, 2023, here is our top 10 list of changes coming to FAFSA’s questions and processes that also warrant our attention and planning discussions. Some changes revolve around FSA ID, family size, negative Student Aid Index, and Pell Grant
eligibility.
Creating an FSA ID for every contributor on the 2024-25 FAFSA is an essential step to accessing the application online. FSA held a webinar on November 2 to begin sharing details about the FSA ID process for individuals who do not have a Social Security
Number (SSN). Those who have SSNs should continue using the current system.
New acts implemented in the 2024-25 FAFSA will allow most residents to be eligible for federal financial aid, even if their parents are undocumented.
However, some changes to the FAFSA may create challenges for mixed status families as people without SSNs will need to go through a separate process to attain an FSA ID. Here you’ll find an overview of key changes and things students and families
need to know to prepare to apply for federal financial aid.
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