I am a Continuing Student (Not Submitted): Northern Kentucky University, Greater Cincinnati Region

Returning college students also want to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA as soon as possible. You will see some changes in the FAFSA process this year. While the application and process may seem challenging, our office is here to support you. Please refer to the information listed below as a resource to you when you are completing your 24-25 FAFSA Application. If you have questions, you can contact our office at 859-572-5143 or at ofa@nku.edu.

Complete Your FASFA

What are the 2024-2025 FAFSA Changes:

Simplification: The FAFSA will reduce in maximum questions from 108 questions to 46. And because the FAFSA on the Web is dynamic, some students won't even be presented with all 46 questions. Recent FAFSAs saw some questions dropped, and others will no longer be asked due to the way that tax and income information will be shared.
Tax/Income Data: Previously, students, a student's spouse (when married), and parent(s) (when students are dependent) entered their tax information or used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to transfer tax data from the IRS to the FAFSA. Beginning with 2024-25, all persons listing tax information on the FAFSA will be required to use the IRS Direct Data Exchange (DDX) to share tax information or confirm non-filing status. DDX gives ease to the process and reduces questions to be answered. This change also requires the student, spouse, and all parents with tax data reported to get a personal FSA ID (if you don't each have one already).
1. You will be required to provide consent and approval on the 2024-2025 FAFSA form, to learn more about what it means to provide consent, watch this short video: https://youtu.be/zd21zLLR6yw?si=TC5RRPNCi46mnSdD
Student Aid Index (SAI): The FAFSA previously calculated an Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). Now the FAFSA will produce the Student Aid Index (SAI). This name more accurately describes a number used to determine aid eligibility within programs and compared to other students. Also, this number, unlike the EFC, can be negative with the minimum SAI being -1500.
1. The change to SAI calculations does have additional implications that could impact your aid eligibility:
  1. No benefit for having siblings in college: The FAFSA previously divided the EFC proportionally based on the number of the household in college. The elimination of this "sibling discount" will be the biggest change in aid eligibility for some students. The SAI will not use the number in college as a factor in calculation of eligibility. The determination to no longer consider the number in college was made by Congress and can only be changed by Congress.
  2. Automatic Pell Grants based on income and household size: Families making less than 175% and single parents making less than 225% of the federal poverty level will see their students receive a maximum Federal Pell Grant award. Minimum Pell Grants will be guaranteed to students from households below 275%, 325%, 350%, or 400% of the poverty level, depending on household structure. Pell awards between the maximum and minimum amounts will be determined by SAI.
  3. Larger Income Protection Allowances:The Income Protection Allowance (IPA) covers a family's basic living expenses and is excluded from SAI formulas. New, larger IPAs lower the amount of student or parent income considered to be available to pay for college. IPAs will increase by 20% for parents, up to about $2400 (35%) for most students, and up to about $6500 (60%) for students who are single parents.
  4. Inclusion of family farms or small businesses: When required, families will now report the value of their farms or businesses. While this inclusion continues to be debated in Congress, it will be required reporting for appropriate families on the 2024-25 FAFSA and can influence the SAI.
Full completion of the application is required. In prior years, students were able to access and use some of their responses from the FAFSA application that they submitted the prior year, that will not be an option for the 2024-2025 application. You will have to submit responses for all questions that you are required to answer.

What is not changing:

The FAFSA is still required for federal aid consideration and will be used for the awarding of some institutional and state aid.
You will have to continue to submit a new FAFSA for each academic year.
Questions about the applicant’s sex, race, and ethnicity have no impact on federal student aid eligibility and will not be shared with the school. Those data pieces will only be used by the Department of Education for statistical purposes.
The guidelines for dependency status still remain the same.
The FAFSA will request tax information from the prior-prior year. Families with significant reductions in low-income levels can continue to work with OSFA to learn more about our special circumstance process.

I am a Continuing Student (Not Submitted)

The Office of Student Financial Assistance

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