Students and family members are facing challenges in filling out their 2024-2025 financial aid forms after the Student Federal Aid Department made multiple changes on Dec. 31, 2023.
These changes are all part of the Federal Aid Department's FAFSA Simplification Act, according to the Federal Student Aid website.
The act is designed to be a revamp of the procedures and systems used in granting federal student aid leading to many new modifications that affects all schools that use the Federal Student Aid program, according to the same website.
Mary Le, a private college consultant, said the changes implemented from the Simplification Act are a soft launch and will inevitably face some technical issues over the next couple of months.
Le said one major change is in how parents and guardians will share personal financial information and how it affects financial aid eligibility for students in their care.
“The scope is to help students that are low income and underrepresented,” Le said. “The middle class, high net worth, high income folks, it may not help them as much because it’s not meant for them.”
As part of the Simplification Act, the determination analysis for financial aid eligibility has been renamed to Student Aid Index (SAI) and will provide a different measure of determining ability to pay for college, according to a Federal Student Aid website.
The formula removes the impact of having multiple family members in college from the calculation and implements separate eligibility determination criteria for Federal Pell Grants, according to the same website.
Federal Pell Grants are a type of federal financial award available to only undergraduate students who show great financial need, according to a Federal Student Aid website. This financial award, unlike loans, does not need to be repaid.
The Simplification Act expands the eligibility for students to receive Federal Pell Grants and will link eligibility to family size and federal poverty level, according to the same website.
Kristen Weaver, the interim senior student affairs case manager at SJSU Cares, said in an effort to provide holistic support to San José State students, SJSU Cares does offer services to help students with FAFSA and with obtaining any other financial assistance like CALFresh, that may benefit them.
CALFresh is a program that provides financial assistance in relation to food and health to low-income families or individuals who meet federal income eligibility requirements, according to the CALFresh website.
SJSU Cares is a program at SJSU that assists students who are facing economic crisis by providing support through case management and referrals for resources to basic essentials such as food, housing, emergency assistance or academic help, according to its website.
Weaver said because it is a new form and therefore a new process, students should give themselves plenty of time to become acquainted with the new form, information and questions and not rush through it.
“I would really recommend that people start early on the form, develop and ask questions,” Weaver said. “Contact our partners at financial aid, ask for assistance as you need it and just try to be communicative throughout the process.”
Le said students shouldn’t stress out when filling out the application and instead, take it slowly and be sure to use a laptop to see more accurately.
Le said students should carve out one to three hours to dedicate to filling out the FAFSA form and endure through all the frustration of technical or other problems.
“This is your future financial aid so take your time to do it,” Le said. “It's worth it.”
Weaver said students should use programs on campus, like SJSU Cares, to arrange proper meetings and discover what sort of resources they have access to, if any.
John Tello, a history graduate student said he doesn’t understand the purpose of the new adjustments being made to the 2024-2025 FAFSA form.
Tello also said he feels like there are no helping hands or good resources on campus to go to for help with FAFSA.
“Even though I've been in school this long, I (feel like I’m) new because all of this is new,” he said. “Honestly I'm still trying to figure it out, like where do I even go?”
Tello said that with these new brackets of information in FAFSA, there is a strong need for education on financial literacy.
Le said she also sees the need for financial aid awareness and literacy with the new changes that might confuse both returning students and new students.
Le said this new act will simplify the financial aid process as intended but it warrants a period of adaptation for those who grew accustomed to the previous FAFSA form.
She said the most apparent changes to the form will focus on the financial supporter of a student.
Le said instead of the traditional use of language typically seen in the FAFSA form such as “Parent 1,” “Parent 2” or “Spouse,” any financially supportive figure in a student’s FAFSA form will instead be called a “Contributor.”
A contributor refers to anyone who will provide their information, consent and approval to have their federal tax information automatically transferred from the IRS, according to the Federal Student Aid website.
A contributor is the person who also provides a student with the most financial support even if they do not live with them or did not raise them, according to the same website.
The student's financial aid eligibility will then be based on the contributor’s income two years prior to when the form is being filled out and any other information on the contributor’s federal tax form, according to the same website.
Le said it’s important for students to also recognize the difference between assets and income in relation to financial aid.
“Just because you have a high income doesn't mean you're not going to get financial aid,” she said. “The equation is based on the income two years prior to the year that you start and it’s also based on assets, it's total wealth.”
Tello said he has never experienced fair determination in eligibility for financial aid and many underrepresented students feel the same way.
Tello was offered admission to Columbia University in 2020 for a graduate degree in history but was unable to attend because of lack of funds.
He said the financial aid he was offered was nowhere near close enough to cover the cost of Columbia’s tuition.
“The quarters or the semester (at Columbia) cost like 30 grand and my financial aid only covered like $20,000,” Tello said. “If I wanted to take it I was going to have to come up with $10,000 in a pandemic.”
Tello said at every university he applied to, whether it be SJSU or Columbia, financial problems always got in the way of finishing his degree.
“We can't ignore important underrepresented voices of students with all these continuous barriers to finishing a degree, especially if there are going to be new limitations to financial aid,” Tello said.
He said the broke college student cliché is very real and the bare minimum should be provided to students who need financial education and access to information to be able to complete their FAFSA.
“There should at least be an info sheet on the desk (of campus resource centers) that students can access to get information on the changes to financial aid because it should be made clear,” Tello said.
Le said many students assume they don’t qualify for FAFSA and end up not applying.
“I don't care how much you make. You should do your part and apply for FAFSA,” Le said. “California schools don't get money until we get FAFSA submitted.”
