Graduate Financial Aid

FAFSA Simplification is a process that the U.S. Department of Education has undertaken to simplify the FAFSA experience for students and families. This is the most significant overhaul of the FAFSA in 40 years. 

The best information we have is that the 24-25 FAFSA will be available at some point in December 2023.

For those students who have submitted a valid 2024-25 FAFSA, we plan to start notifying prospective students of their financial aid offer approximately mid-January. Returning main campus undergraduates should be notified by mid-June.

The term “family” replaces the term “household” (formerly used on the FAFSA) starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA. The family reported on the FAFSA is the parent that provided the student with the most financial support (for dependent students). If that parent is married or remarried, the current spouse’s information is also included.

This may not be the parent(s) with whom the student lives.

Parental information is not reported for independent students who meet the definition of independent.

The parent(s) on the 2024-25 FAFSA are married biological or adoptive parents, or unmarried biological or adoptive parents living together, who provided the most financial support. This may not be the parent(s) with whom the student lives.

The 2024-25 FAFSA introduces a new concept of contributor on the FAFSA. The student applying for financial aid is always a contributor, and the parent(s) who provided the most support is also a contributor. If the parent who provides the most support is remarried, the current spouse/stepparent is considered a contributor. If tax filing status is “married filing separately,” the spouse will also need to provide consent to transfer their tax information on to the FAFSA. Add the following sentence: If a required contributor fails to sign with their FSA ID and submit their consent the student will not be eligible for federal student aid.

Beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA, the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is being replaced by the SAI. The index will be used to determine eligibility for federal, state, and Springfield College financial aid, and in some cases a federal Pell Grant.

On the 2024-25 FAFSA, child support received by the parent(s) reported on the FAFSA will be reported as an asset.

There are three paths to a federal Pell Grant. Two paths look at the parent(s) income and family size as a factor of federal poverty levels. These paths consider a student for a maximum or minimum federal Pell Grant. The third path, called in-between, is a calculation subtracting the Student Aid Index from the maximum federal Pell Grant.

Our preliminary calculations estimate a few more Springfield College students will qualify for a federal Pell Grant with the new calculation.

The federal Pell Grant is also now calculated using an enrollment intensity. In other words, if you are less than full time (less than 12 credits), the federal Pell Grant will be calculated using the actual number of credits registered in the term; a full-time student (12 or more credits), who is Pell eligible, is eligible regardless of the number of credits registered in the term.

Prior to 2024-25, students and families had the option to link their FAFSA application with the IRS and transfer their tax information on to the FAFSA. Starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA, the FADDX is no longer optional. When completing a 2024-25 FAFSA, the student and parent(s), if applicable, must provide consent to have their tax information transferred from the IRS on to the FAFSA.  

In cases where the parent on the FAFSA is remarried and using a filing status of “married filing separately,” the stepparent will also need to provide consent. This would require the stepparent to create an account and acquire a Federal Student Aid ID (FSAID) at student.gov 

The family size (formerly the number in the household) will be transferred from the IRS 1040 as the number of dependents listed on the parent’s 2022 tax return. This number may not be correct. Always review this question for accuracy and update as necessary. 

Prior to the 2024-25 FAFSA, business and/or farm value was only reported if that business or farm employed more than 100 people. Starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA, all business and/or farm value is reported.  A negative value is reported as zero.

Starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA, the number of students (from one family) in college at the same time will be asked for, but the answer is not used in the calculation that determines eligibility for financial aid. We expect Springfield College financial aid to remain approximately the same for most families.

Prior to the 2024-25 FAFSA, federal work-study and other need-based employment earnings were self-reported on the FAFSA. Starting with 2024-25, Springfield College will be reporting 2022 tax information for federal work study earnings to the U.S. Department of Education to be used in the SAI calculation.