2024-2025 FAFSA

Terms to Know

  • Student Aid Index (SAI): calculated by FAFSA data and will determine student aid eligibility. This replaces the EFC that was used in previous years.
  • Contributor: a parent, step-parent, student, or spouse of student who is providing information to the FAFSA.
  • Consent: required from all contributors in order for the IRS to share tax data directly to the FAFSA. Not providing consent will automatically make the student ineligible for aid.
  • Direct Data Exchange (DDX): previously known as IRS Data Retrieval; this tool imports tax data directly from the IRS to your FAFSA.
  • FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS): a summary of your completed FAFSA information. This replaces the Student Aid Report (SAR) that was used in previous years

Key Changes

  • The 2024-25 FAFSA will open in December 2023 instead of the usual October 1
  • Streamlined and more user-friendly FAFSA now with fewer questions
  • Students invite their contributors via email to complete their portion of the FAFSA
  • Expanded aid eligibility due to larger income protection allowances
  • IRS Direct Data Exchange (DDX) makes entering tax information easier and will be required for students, spouses, and parent to transfer their 2022 tax information or non-filing status
  • Number in college will no longer factor into the FAFSA calculation
  • Untaxed items such as payments to tax-deferred retirement or pension plans, veteran’s non-educational benefits, worker’s compensation will no longer be required
  • Parent assets will now include net worth of all businesses and net worth of a family farm, if applicable
  • Divorced or separated parent changes the parent who provided the most financial support to the student will need to provide their information. Previously, the parent who the student lived with the most provided their information.
  • Family size replaces “household size”.  IRS uses the definition of dependents on tax return. FAFSA contributor (student and/or parent) is given opportunity to manually update family size. We suggest everyone manually enter the number of people in their household.
  • Everyone who is a contributor (student and parent(s)/step-parent or spouse, if applicable) on the FAFSA must consent to the IRS sharing tax information, even if they didn’t file federal taxes, in order for the FAFSA to be processed

Ways to Prepare

  • FSA ID
    A Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID is required for all contributors including the student. Apply for your FSA ID
  • Determine your contributors, if applicable. The FAFSA will also offer assistance when filing.
    The student is a contributor. A contributor may also be a:

    • Parent
    • Step-parent
    • Spouse of student
  • 2022 Federal tax Information and W-2’s
    All contributors will need this information, if applicable
  • LSSU Federal School Code: 002293

When to Expect a Financial Aid Package

The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday, January 30, 2024 that schools will not be receiving any 2024-25 FAFSA information until the first half of March 2024. Once the FAFSA information is received into our system, we then begin processing the information and awarding students the financial aid that they are eligible for.

  • Current students enrolled at LSSU can expect a delay in receiving their 2024-25 financial aid package.
  • Incoming new students may not receive a financial aid package before April 2024.

FAQ

When will the 2024-25 FAFSA become available?

The US Department of Education has not determined an exact date, but announced that it will become available sometime in December 2023.

Need to make changes to your FAFSA?

Students that need to make any changes or updates to their 2024-25 FAFSA application will be able to do so through studentaid.gov in mid-March 2024.

Is a contributor required to have an FSA ID?

Yes, all contributors must have an FSA ID.

My parents are married but filed taxes separately do they both need to sign the FAFSA?

Yes, if your parents are married but filed taxes separately they both must sign using their own FSA IDs.

My parents are divorced or separated. Which parent is a contributor for my FAFSA?

The parent who provides the most financial support to the student should be considered the contributor on the FAFSA.

Do the invitations to contributors to provide federal tax information and consent expire?

Yes. Invitations to be a contributor will be deleted when they have been inactive for 45 days. Any previously entered information will be deleted and the process will need to start over.

How can I be considered an independent student?

An independent student is one of the following: born before Jan, 1, 2001, married(and not separated), a graduate or professional student, a veteran, a member of the armed forces, an orphan, a ward of the court,  a person with legal dependents other than a spouse, an emancipated minor, a person who is unaccompanied and homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless.

If I am a married student do both my spouse and I need to sign the FAFSA?

If you filed your taxes separately during the FAFSA filing year you will need to both sign using your own FSA IDs.

Why do I (or my parent(s)) have to consent to having tax information transferred from the IRS if I/they didn’t file taxes?

Consent is required of all contributors to the FAFSA. Consent is allowing the IRS to provide Federal Tax Information (FTI) via a direct data share to Federal Student Aid. If there is no tax information on file for a contributor, that is the information the IRS will share with Federal Student Aid. If one or more contributors do not consent to the data share, the FAFSA will be rejected.

When is the deadline to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA?

Now that the 2024-25 FAFSA is available, we recommend that you complete it as soon as possible to receive your financial aid package for the 2024-2025 school year.

Please note: The FAFSA must be completed by July 1, 2024 to be considered for any State of Michigan awards that you may be eligible for.

Is your question not listed? Contact our office!

Disclaimer

The Lake Superior State University Office of Financial Aid is working to provide accurate and timely updates related to the 2024-25 FAFSA. Due to the significant amount of changes that are occurring, our website may change as updates are received from the Department of Education and Federal Student Aid for the 2024-2025 academic year. We appreciate your patience as we work to implement the changes brought by the FAFSA Simplification Act.