FAFSA Simplification

What We Can Share With You

On December 27, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act. This included the FAFSA Simplification Act which is a sweeping redesign of the systems and processes used to award federal student aid. The goal of the Simplification Act is to make it easier for students and their families to complete the FAFSA and expand eligibility to more students.

The 2024-25 FAFSA process is unique for several reasons. Due to the revamped application, you can expect the following changes:

• The 2024-2025 FAFSA will not be available until December 2023.
• The FAFSA process will be streamlined and easier for students to complete.
• New terminology will be added to the FAFSA.
• Expanded eligibility for federal financial aid.
• A better user experience.

We will continue to update this page as additional information becomes available. This will allow you to learn more about the specific changes, timelines, and how to prepare below.

Updated Terminology & Information

Student Aid Index (SAI): Replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as a formal evaluation of a student’s approximate financial resources to contribute toward their postsecondary education for a specific award year.

Contributor: Any individual required to provide consent and approval for federal tax information (FTI) along with their signature on the FAFSA® form, including the student; the student’s spouse; a biological or adoptive parent; or the parent’s spouse (stepparent). Contributors will be determined by a student’s dependency, marital, and tax filing status.

• Students will provide information for FAFSA to contact other contributors.
• Other contributors (if needed) fill FAFSA out separately and do not see student information.
• Students do not see information from other contributors.
• If married and filed jointly the spouse does not need to log in as a contributor.
• If living together/married and not filed jointly, the spouse will need to be a contributor.

FAFSA Submission Summary: Replaces the Student Aid Report (SAR) as the student’s output document providing a summary of data input on the FAFSA form.

Family Size: The definition of family size has changed to align with number of individuals reported as dependents on applicant’s (if independent) or applicant’s parents’ (if dependent) U.S. tax return.

Number in College: The FAFSA will still ask for the number of family members in college, however this will not be a factor in determining aid eligibility.

How to Prepare for FAFSA

While the 2024-2025 FAFSA won’t be available until December, you can still prepare by doing the following:

• Create an FSA ID for each contributor (student, student’s spouse (if applicable), student’s parent(s)).
  • Create the FSA ID Here!
• An FSA ID is an account and password that gives contributors access to the Federal Student Aid’s online system and serves as the electronic signature.
• Monitor your SUNY Orange email accounts for updates from the Financial Aid Office. 
  Complete the FAFSA as soon as it opens in December.

Resources:
What is the FAFSA Simplification Act? | Federal Student Aid
FAFSA Simplification Fact Sheet