The New 2024-25 FAFSA: 12 Key Updates You Should Know

By Kassondra Cloos | Published on October 21, 2025

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The U.S. Department of Education has been working on some big changes to its federal student aid program, which includes a brand-new FAFSA.

The new form just opened in December, and now you can fill it out for the 2024-2025 school year. Here’s what you need to know about how the changes could impact the aid you’re eligible for.

Key changes to the new FAFSA

The biggest thing you’ll notice about the new FAFSA is that it’s simpler to complete. The changes are intended to make the whole process more intuitive, and to eliminate confusion over terms that made it challenging for families to understand their financial obligations.

This is what you can expect from the new process.

1. You’ll answer fewer questions

The old FAFSA form included over 100 questions. In the new version, some students may only need to answer 18 questions, which the Department of Education says could take as little as 10 minutes.

Some notable questions removed from the application form include asking whether students have registered for the Selective Service, which is no longer required, and asking students whether they’ve had any drug-related convictions, which no longer disqualifies people from receiving aid.

2. The new form is easier to understand

In addition to being shorter, the new form is intended to be more intuitive. Questions about students’ personal circumstances should be more straightforward and easier to answer. Overall, it should take you much less time than the previous version of the form.

3. You and your contributor(s) will all need FSA IDs

If you’re a dependent student and/or if you’re married, each person listed on your FAFSA form will need their own Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID — even if they don’t have a social security number.

4. You will need to prove your contributors’ consent to share their tax info

You’ll need to get consent from your contributors in order to access their tax data to fill out the new FAFSA form. You’ll have to do this, and get your contributors’ signatures to prove consensual participation, before you can complete the FAFSA.

5. There’s no more discount for having multiple children in college at the same time

Previously, families with children close in age could count on a multiple child “discount,” meaning they could expect to receive more financial aid if they had two students attending college at the same time. The new FAFSA removes the number of children from the equation, which could increase the amount you’re expected to pay if you had been hoping for that sibling price break.

6. A different parent may need to fill out the FAFSA than you expected

If your parents were separated and you lived primarily with one parent, the parent you lived with would fill out the FAFSA form. Now, however, your “contributor” for the form should be whoever provides more financial assistance to you.

StudentAid.gov has a flow chart to help you understand which of your parent(s) or guardian(s) should be listed as contributors on your application.

7. There’s higher income protection allowance

The new process for evaluating families’ financial circumstances allows applicants to exclude more of their income from the FAFSA. This “income protection” means most families will have increased eligibility for aid.

8. You’re more likely to be eligible for a Pell Grant

The Department of Education has also increased eligibility for need-based Pell grants, so that more than 600,000 additional students will qualify for this aid. Pell Grants are a form of financial aid that don’t need to be paid back.

9. Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is now the Student Aid Index (SAI)

After completing the old version of the FAFSA form, students received an EFC, or Expected Family Contribution. This number was often confusing, as it represented the amount of money a university should expect a family could contribute, but had no actual relationship to the amount of money a student would receive.

Therefore, families with an EFC of $10,000 may have had to pay significantly more than that if aid wasn’t available from the university. The new form indicates the applicant’s Student Aid Index, or SAI, which shows universities how great a family’s need is.

10. You can list more colleges on your FAFSA

Previously, you could only send your FAFSA to 10 colleges at a time. Now, you can select up to 20 colleges to send your Student Aid Index to. Remember that you don’t need to have an acceptance — or even a pending application — to send your SAI to prospective institutions. You should always have your SAI sent to every college you’re considering applying for, so that you don’t miss out on any need-based aid that’s first-come, first-serve.

11. The FAFSA will be available in more languages

Previously, the FAFSA was only available in English and Spanish. The new version of the form will be available in 11 languages.

12. You won’t be penalized for receiving money from other friends or relatives

Let’s say your grandparents have a college savings account in your name with $10,000 in it. Previously, contributions like this from friends or relatives outside the immediate family would have been counted as untaxed income, increasing your EFC accordingly.

Now, however, these contributions aren’t counted as part of your family’s total assets, which means you may be able to receive more financial aid even if other family members gift you some cash for tuition.

What is the 2024-25 FAFSA deadline?

If you’re attending a program that starts after July 1, 2024, you can fill out the FAFSA at any point before June 30, 2025.

However, it’s best to fill it out as soon as you can, even if you’re doing a program that starts in 2025. This is because a lot of need-based aid is first-come, first-served, so you could miss out on financial aid if you wait too long to apply.

Just because you apply for financial aid using the FAFSA doesn’t mean you have to accept what’s offered to you, so it’s best to apply even if you think you’re not eligible or that you won’t need aid, just in case your circumstances change.

After you fill out the FAFSA, you can request federal student loan funds at any point during the academic year if you need more than you thought you would.

How do I complete the 2024-25 FAFSA?

Step 1

Before you begin filling out the FAFSA, make sure you’ve created an FSA ID at studentaid.gov. Then, click the “start new form button” on the FAFSA application page.

Step 2

You’ll be instructed to invite your contributor(s) to fill out the FAFSA through their own FSA account. You won’t be able to complete the form without their consent to relay their tax data, and their signature to prove they agreed to participate.

Important Note: Filling out the FAFSA does not mean your parents are required to pay for your college education. The form is intended to provide a picture of your family’s financial situation so you can receive as much aid as possible, but filling it out doesn’t guarantee any financial assistance.

Step 3

Once you get your contributors’ consent, you’ll be able to start your portion of the FAFSA. You’ll answer some questions about your personal data and your own financial circumstances. At the end, you’ll receive your Student Aid Index, or SAI, which will also be sent to every college you indicated on your application form.

Step 4

Once you start receiving admissions decisions from the universities you applied for, you should also get a financial aid package from each one indicating what they’re able to offer you.

This package will include what’s available to you, including federal funds — such as Pell Grants — and private funds from the university, such as merit or need-based scholarships you won’t have to pay back.

You’ll also receive a list of the federal student loans available to you, such as subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Loans, which you will need to pay back. You do not have to accept these loans if you do not want to.

Learn more about Earnest student loans

If your financial aid package doesn’t offer enough grant money or federal loans to cover the full cost of tuition and living expenses, private loans can help you afford college. Earnest offers low rates, flexible payment options, and a nine-month grace period — three months longer than average.

Considering a private student loan? Try out Earnest’s student loan calculator today to check your rate and see what you’re eligible for. It’s fast, free, and it won’t affect your credit score.