What you need to know about the new FAFSA

From StudentAid.gov:

If you have a Social Security number (SSN), you must provide it when creating your account.

If you don’t have an SSN, you can create an account if one of the following statements is true for you:

• I am a parent or spouse of a student who is applying for aid, and I don’t have an SSN.
• I am a citizen of the Freely Associated States and need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form online.

While creating your account, you’ll need to answer a few knowledge-based questions to verify your identity. If you answer these questions correctly, you’ll be able to use your account immediately.

Note that accounts created without SSNs have limited functionality.

To apply for an SSN, or to get a replacement Social Security card, you must contact your local Social Security office. For more information, you can visit the Social Security Administration or call at 1-800-722-1213.

First, the student will need to invite the contributor, then:

1. The contributor will receive an email stating that they have been invited by their student
2. The contributor will create an FSA ID if they don’t have one already and then log into their account
3. The contributor reviews the FAFSA questions associated with them, and enters accurate responses.

The following flowchart will help you understand which of your parents needs to be a contributor on your FAFSA, or if both of your parents need to be contributors.

It is likely that you will need to have a contributor if you are a traditional undergraduate student. The contributor will likely be one or both of your parents or stepparents, depending on your specific circumstances. Your spouse will be a contributor if you are married.

A contributor is the term the federal government uses for anyone who needs to submit information on your 2024-2025 FAFSA. You’ll need to invite them to fill out information on your FAFSA. Your contributors will also need to make their own FSA ID.

The most likely contributors are:

• Student
• Spouse (if student is married)
• Parents (biological or adoptive)
• Stepparents

If you create your FSA ID with a Social Security Number, it will take a few days to verify. Once the 2024-25 FAFSA is available to file, you should be able to start your FAFSA about 1-3 days after creating your FSA ID. To get a head start, you and your contributors can create your FSA IDs now using the Federal Student Aid website as long as you have a Social Security Number. If you go ahead and create your FSA IDs, you will be able to start the FAFSA as soon as it opens.

Since contributors without a social security number must undergo a verification process to create their FSA IDs, those created without a Social Security number will be verified instantly and can start entering information on the FAFSA immediately.

No, you can use your existing FSA ID. If you forgot your username and/or password, you can retrieve your FSA ID on the studentaid.gov username retrieval page.

As of right now, no. The federal government is developing a new FSA ID process that will launch in late 2023. Once this takes place, you will be able to verify your identity without a Social Security Number and make an FSA ID.

An FSA ID is required for all students and contributors to access the 2024-2025 FAFSA.

All students and contributors who have a Social Security Number can create their FSA ID now on the Federal Student Aid website.

If your contributors do not have a Social Security number, they will be able to create their FSA ID once the new FSA ID process launches in late 2023.

The FSA ID is your account to access the FAFSA. All students and contributors need to have their own FSA ID.

Yes! You can use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to help get an idea what aid you may be eligible for. The Estimator can be found on the Federal Student Aid website. Please note that this tool provides estimates of federal student aid programs; it cannot predict financial aid offered by Brenau University or through Georgia state aid programs. Your Brenau financial aid offer will pull all sources of financial aid together in order to help you and your family make an informed decision.

Federal Pell Grants are need-based financial aid that is awarded to undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional financial need. This award is money given by the government to students and does not need to be repaid. As a result of the changes to the FAFSA and the new SAI, more students are expected to qualify for a Pell Grant. The maximum annual Pell Grant is currently $7,395 for full-time enrollment.

The SAI has changed the way that eligibility for need-based aid is calculated:

• The number of family members in college is no longer factored into the calculation, but still reported on your FAFSA
• An SAI may be as low as $ -1,500, while the floor for the EFC was $0
• The SAI will help determine Pell Grant Eligibility for families who do not qualify based solely on family income
• Child support received and family farms and small businesses will now be considered assets

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is a measure of you and your family’s ability to pay for college, and helps to determine the amount of need-based financial aid you may be eligible to receive. The SAI replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from previous versions of the FAFSA.