FAFSA form is updating in December

By Destiny Grant

CCC Journalism Program

A big update is coming to The Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA in December for the 2024-2025 school year. A new form is one of many changes to be made to the financial aid process in the last few years.

The form will introduce several main changes, the first being that the student and any of their contributors will fill out a different version of the form. The student will complete the form first, then they must send a link to their parents/guardians or spouse, who will then complete their portion. The questions will differ depending on what the student answered and what information was taken from the IRS.

Federal tax information will be imported directly from the IRS into the form. Students will no longer be able to fill out most of the financial information.

The new form will also require the student and any contributors to sign a consent and approval agreement to allow the transfer of financial information from the IRS. If this is not signed, the student will not be eligible for financial aid.

        Another change being made is the removal of the Estimated Family Contribution or EFC, which is a calculation used to determine a student’s eligibility for financial aid. It is being replaced with the Student Aid Index, which will determine the same thing as the EFC but use a different formula. The Department of Education has estimated that an outcome of this update is that more students will be eligible for grants.  

Another requirement being introduced is that the student and their contributors must all have a StudentAid.gov account. Students will be able to see more details about the status of their form.

Lastly, when the form is complete, it can be sent to up to 20 colleges, career schools or trade schools, as opposed to the original 10.

This update has brought about mixed opinions from students on the Camden County College campus. Carly Thomas, a sophomore at CCC, said, “This is just confusing. Why are they changing an already complicated process? They are going to make all of these technical changes but none of us will end up getting any more money from financial aid.”

Other students viewed these changes in a different way. Angelique Galvan, a CCC freshman, said, “I feel like this new thing with the FAFSA is going to make the information more accurate. I mean fraud most likely won’t be a problem anymore.”

The employees in the financial aid office are preparing for the new FAFSA. They are getting as much information as they can to share with students and parents but not much can be done until the new form comes out in December.

Director of Financial Aid Felicia Bryant, said, “We are doing a lot of preparation on the backend. The biggest one is getting our processing, our information system, the technology ready to handle these changes.”

Bryant urged students and parents to make FSA accounts as soon as possible to be best prepared.

For more information about the FAFSA, visit studentaid.gov or contact the financial aid office at financialaid@camdencc.edu.