FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) has changed in 2024, and as Sarah Thornborrow, one of Canyon Ridge´s career center counselors, describes, the changes to FAFSA are generally just a simplification of the old design.

FAFSA is an integral part of applying for colleges and universities because most postsecondary institutions look at a student’s FAFSA form after high school to see what financial aid they are eligible for. Some FAFSA financial aid includes work-study, various federal grants, and loans.

The simplification of the FAFSA form, or, the FAFSA Simplification Act; encompasses various procedures and policies for schools that use FAFSA and the form itself.

The Department of Education is responsible for passing the FAFSA Simplification Act. According to the official FAFSA website, ¨The FAFSA Simplification Act (Act) was enacted into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022.¨

The simplifications to the form, according to Thornborrow, includes an increase in student Pell Grants, and parents no longer needing to input taxes. Instead, the IRS will be handling taxes by using federal tax data that families provide, and filling out the FAFSA form instead of families filling out the form manually. FAFSA has additionally made an overall simplification of the questions on the form.

FAFSA changes will also impact schools that use the form; this has included a delay to FAFSA opening in October of 2023, which made students unable to apply for financial aid until December. Pulling from the official FAFSA website, “The law will also affect every state that uses FAFSA data to award state grant aid and every school that participates in the federal student aid programs.”

All seniors must submit their FAFSA form by March 1st to receive any pending scholarships awarded to the student, as stated by
Jessica Isaacs, a Canyon Ridge Career Center counselor, in an email to Canyon Ridge students. Canyon Ridge also hosted a “FAFSA Night” on February 7th from 5:30 to 7:00 pm to help struggling students and parents who were having difficulty completing their FAFSA forms.