"Families, working to figure out how to pay for college, will soon get a chance to fill out new federal student aid forms. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is getting an overhaul with a new application and new formulas to calculate financial aid. In past years, students could start on the form in October," NBC DFW reports.

... "Completing the FAFSA is a key step to qualify for federal financial aid and find out what’s available to help pay for school."

"'Things like the Pell Grant, federal work-study, student loans, and state governments and colleges also use the information on the FAFSA to distribute and award their own financial aid,' said Nalia Medina with the National Association Of Student Financial Aid Administrators."

"Families will see a new term on the form: contributor. Federal Student Aid says a contributor may include the student, a parent, or a spouse. Each contributor on a student’s FAFSA form will need their own login credentials, an FSA ID, to complete the application. If you don't already have an FSA ID, you can start the process now."

"'These FSA IDs will be taking about three days to be created and verified. So, we're really urging folks to get a head start on this process,' Medina said."

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 12/28/2023