Providing financial aid to students in need, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) usually opens on Oct. 1 – but not this year. Through the FAFSA Simplification Act, the 2024-25 FAFSA will not arrive until Dec. 2023 with discernable differences.
Changes include fewer application questions – from 108 to 36 – and a more streamlined process with privacy features. Another adjustment is expanding federal student aid eligibility and replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) metric with the Student Aid Index (SAI).
“The SAI is similar to the EFC,” the FAFSA Simplification Act states. “Both metrics are a dollar amount that synthesizes personal and financial characteristics to estimate the ability of an applicant to pay for postsecondary education.”
However, a student’s SAI can be as low as -$1,500, whereas a student’s EFC cannot.
These changes to the FAFSA may seem intimidating, but Nicole Boelk, director of Student Financial Services at OU, believes students will find these adjustments beneficial.
“What [Federal Student Aid is] indicating is that nationally, this change in the formula of the FAFSA is going to result in more students receiving more financial aid funding,” Boelk said. “Potentially, we’re going to see students who have never thought they could qualify for financial aid perhaps become eligible for some type of financial aid funding.”
The changes to the FAFSA process don’t stop there. Due to the application’s delay, Boelk says students can expect to receive financial aid offers later than they typically would.
“We typically send out financial aid offers to incoming students before the holiday break [and] returning students after the holiday break. That timeline is going to have to change,” Boelk said. “We are hoping by mid-spring – so end of March, beginning of April – we are hoping to be able to produce financial aid offers before folks leave for summer.”
While students may have had more wiggle room with the release of the FAFSA in Oct., Boelk recommends students complete the new application as soon as it’s released.
“We need you to do that FAFSA right away in December when it becomes available… to get those financial aid offers out as quickly as we can, ” Boelk said.
As OU’s Annual Scholarship Application usually opens the same day as the FAFSA, Student Financial Services is delaying the process until Dec. 1, with applications closing on March 1, 2024.
While the FAFSA will likely return to its Oct. 1 opening next year, Boelk says Student Financial Services is currently evaluating the best time to open the Annual Scholarship Application in future years.
“The majority of our students don’t apply until the last week before the deadline,” Boelk said. “Every year, we evaluate what timeframe we should use with the OU Annual Scholarship process. We’ll make people aware of the change if there’s going to be one in the future.”
Though the format of the FAFSA will be different, Boelk says the importance of the application is still the same. She refers to the FAFSA as “the gateway to financial aid” and states not filling out the application prevents students from seeing what assistance they could receive.
“We’re encouraging everyone to submit a FAFSA,” Boelk said.
Student Financial Services has more information regarding the changes to the FAFSA and the OU Annual Scholarship Application on their website. After the 2024-25 FAFSA is released, they will host small group workshops for those who need help filling out the form.
Student Financial Services is in North Foundation Hall, Room 120. Students can contact them by phone at (248) 370-2550 or by email at [email protected].
