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2024-25 FAFSA & FAFSA Simplification

  1. Admissions & Financial Aid
  2. Undergraduate
  3. Financial aid
  4. Applying for aid
  5. 2024-25 FAFSA & FAFSA Simplification

At Saint Martin's University, we understand that financial aid is central to your educational journey. We want to keep you informed about important updates to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2024-25 award year. This page serves as a guide for the changes that have been implemented, as well as any updates we receive.

Get the latest updates from the official FAFSA website:

FAFSA Technical Issues Tracker

March 27, 2024 Update

On March 25th, The Department of Education announced a couple key important updates:

  • The ability for students to make updates and corrections to their FAFSA forms will be available in the first half of April. Before this function is available for students and families, the Department will be working closely with colleges, students, and families on how to correct the most common FAFSA form errors including no signatures and selecting 'yes' to applying for unsubsidized loans only.
  • Contributor(s) without an SSN must manually enter their financial information using 2022 tax information. There is no estimated timeline for addressing the issue, but once resolved, the Department will attempt to retrieve federal tax information through the direct data exchange with the IRS and will reprocess these FAFSAs when necessary.
  • Contributor(s) without an SSN is now able to access the student's 2024-25 FAFSA form after being invited by the student via email.

Learn more about applying for aid

File your FAFSA

Net Price Calculator

Previous updates

On February 20, The Department of Education announced that it would resolve the 2024-25 FAFSA issue that is preventing submission when a contributor does not have a Social Security Number (SSN), in the “first half” of March.  

We urge applicants to wait for the permanent fix as the current workaround for this issue will result in a rejected FAFSA without a Student Aid Index (SAI).  If you have already submitted your FAFSA using the workaround below, there will be a chance to make a correction to your FAFSA once processing and corrections are available.  

Workaround process: applicants can submit an online FAFSA without the contributor’s signature to obtain a confirmation email with an application submission date. The confirmation email can be used as documentation of FAFSA submission if needed for state, or private aid (outside scholarship) deadlines. However, because the contributor’s consent, approval, and signature are missing, the process will result in a rejected FAFSA without a Student Aid Index (SAI). Once processing and corrections are available, these students will be notified they will need to make corrections. Once the contributor provides their consent and approval via their FSA ID, the rejection will be resolved.

On January 30, the U.S. Department of Education released a notification that institutions would not be sent FAFSA data until mid-March 2024. This delay to FAFSA processing is due to necessary updates that will recognize adjustments for inflation needed for FAFSA application data. As such, this will also mean a delay in our ability to produce financial aid offers for the 2024-25 award year.

We understand that the Department of Education's delays and technical issues can cause concern for you and your family. We want to assure you that we are monitoring the situation and staying informed of any other possible delays or future issues. We appreciate your patience during this time, as you continue to complete and submit your 2024-25 FAFSA.

We will continue to keep you informed with periodic updates and reminders.

What has changed?

Read a summary of the 2024-25 FAFSA changes below.

  • The FAFSA was released in late December 2023.
  • The application process includes fewer questions, and an easier way to transfer tax information directly from the IRS.
  • You will notice new terminology being used in the application and aid eligibility process:
    • Contributor: anyone who is asked to provide information on the FAFSA - For example: student, student spouse, parent(s) and stepparent(s)
    • Consent: each contributor will now need to provide their consent to their Federal Tax Information (FTI) being included in the FAFSA, even if they did not file a U.S. tax return
    • SAI: Student Aid Index (SAI) replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
      • SAI will no longer take into account the number of students a family has in college to determine eligibility for aid.
    • FTI: Federal Tax Information (FTI) transferred directly from the IRS
    • IRS DDX: IRS Direct Data Exchange used to transfer FTI
  • The FAFSA is now available in 11 languages.
  • Each contributor (student, student spouse, parent(s) and/or stepparent) will have to provide consent.
    • In cases of divorce or separation, only the parent(s) who provided the most financial support to the student will need to submit financial information.
    • If any contributor does not provide their consent, the Student Aid Index (SAI) will not be calculated, and we will not be able to determine eligibility for financial aid.
  • Foster, homeless and unaccompanied youth – as well as applicants who cannot provide parental information – will be able to complete the form with a provisional independent student determination and receive a calculated SAI.
  • Students can list up to 20 schools on their FAFSA via the online application.
  • More Pell Grant Awards: some students will automatically qualify for the maximum Pell Grant, including families making less than 175% of the federal poverty level and single parents making less than 225%.
  • Reporting assets: family farms and small businesses should be reported as assets.
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When should I complete my FAFSA?

Despite not receiving FAFSA data until March, Saint Martin's encourages all students to submit the FAFSA as soon as possible. This will ensure we receive it in a timely manner and can help you navigate any other potential special circumstances, documents, or questions you may have. Our priority deadline for FAFSA completion has been moved to June 1, 2024. After submitting your FAFSA, we recommend applying for additional scholarship opportunities. You may also use the Net Price Calculator to help estimate your cost of attendance as well as your estimated financial aid eligibility.

If you need help or have more questions, please reach out to the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@stmartin.edu or 260-688-2150.

Questions? We can help!