By: Jacob Garza
The U.S. Department of Education is preparing a major overhaul to the 2024-25 FAFSA form.
These changes plan to expand federal student aid eligibility and simplify the application process.
The Office of Financial Aid at Dominican is already preparing for a busy spring semester.
The FAFSA application typically opens on Oct. 1, but due to the certain changes, the form will not open until sometime in December. A specific date will later be announced.
Tina Baskin, executive director of financial aid and enrollment, said that once the government finalizes the changes, her department will make it a top priority to send information to students.
“We want to have content on our webpage,” Baskin said. “We want to give continual reminders to current and incoming students that this change is happening. We do not know everything yet, but once we do find out more, our main goal is thorough communication with our students.”
The new FASFA application form is intended to make the overall process shorter.
Junior Lisa Soto Sida said she had unsure feelings about the upcoming application changes.
“I am interested to see the changes,” Sida said. “I heard it was going to be significantly shorter. I do not know for sure, but I know it will it stress me out.”
A significant change coming to the FASFA form will be a student aid index rather than the current Expected Family Contribution (EFC). It will also feature aid-eligibility formula.
These are all changes because of the FASFA Simplification Act in December 2020.
Baskin also stated that her optimism will be useful for the changes in the upcoming years.
“Change is necessary, and these are exciting times,” Baskin said. “The intent of this overhaul is for good reason, and I am optimistic that these changes will be helpful in the long run. This will be an important time for aid administrators.”
