Karli Strom - News and Opinion Editor
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has been delayed for all U.S. students for the 2024-2025 academic year. In an email from Jayne Schreck, Associate Vice President of Student Financial Planning at Monmouth College, she said, “The U.S. Department of Education is making the largest changes made to federal financial aid in many decades.”
“Because of these changes, the timeline for application for federal financial aid will be much later than normal,” said Schreck. The Department of Education expects FAFSA for the 2024-2025 academic year to be available sometime in mid-to-late December.
The reason for the changes to FAFSA is to make the process more “simplified.” Some of the changes to FAFSA include the production of a Student Aid Index (SAI) rather than the previously used Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and the formula used to calculate the SAI will be different. All families will now be required to link their IRS tax return to the FASFA, which was previously optional.
How the aid is calculated will change from previous federal aid formulas, which could result in changes to the amount of aid students receive from the federal government. The delay in the rollout of FAFSA is not expected to be an issue going into the 2025-2026 academic year.
Students that have any questions or concerns about the delay of FAFSA, or their financial aid in general, can contact the Financial Aid Office at 309-457-2129 or email them at: findaid@monmouthcollege.edu. Students can also view information on the Monmouth College website under the “Apply for Financial Aid” tab.