The College Money Method 
Crunch

The Crunch provides news and information around financial aid and paying for college for you to use with students and families in your college counseling practice. 

August 2023 Edition

In this Edition....

• What to expect from the financial aid process
• Reasons to host your financial aid night in October
• 10 major changes to the FAFSA
• New and updated resources: 
  • Counselor Resource Center for the New FAFSA
  • Student Aid Index Calculator

What to expect from the financial aid process this fall...

FAFSA open date remains “sometime” in December

The Department of Education still won’t commit to a live date. 
 

Most financial aid offices I've spoken with assume it will be the very end of December, which effectively means January. While colleges are moving their FAFSA submission deadlines to February 1 and later, this collapsed timeframe will result in frenzy and stress for students and us counselors that support them. 

Be prepared to support students and parents with FAFSA completion when you return from winter break. What support and resources can you have in place before January? How will you manage support for seniors on the financial aid process at a time when you typically shift focus to your junior class?

CSS Profile will still open on October 1^st

Advantage College Board and Profile colleges. 

This is especially the case for Profile colleges that offer ED because they'll be able to collect the financials they need to package their ED admits (with some caveats). More on the ED process for financial aid in my next edition later this month.

College Board even held a vendor session at NASFAA highlighting their October 1 opening and other advantages. Will more colleges, especially ED colleges that have previously relied only on the FAFSA, adopt the CSS Profile? My bet: YES. CSS Profile website has not updated their list of participating schools for 2024-25 yet, but keep an eye out for a growing list.

Reasons to host your financial aid night in October

While hands-on FAFSA workshops will happen in January, having your senior financial aid night in October is still important. 

Here are the top reasons to plan a night with your students and families.

1. Ease student and parent anxiety by providing an overview of new timelines and what they can do to prepare. With all of the admissions changes in the 2024-25 cycle, students and parents are especially stressed. Proactively communicating when and how will help reduce stress for everyone.
2. Encourage students and parents to create their FSA IDs early. Especially this year, students and parents need to be ready to submit their FAFSA as close to the open date as possible. Creating an FSA in January can delay that readiness and submission.
3. Support students with the CSS Profile application. The CSS Profile will still open on October 1st, and many Profile colleges have indicated that they want the Profile submitted on an earlier timeline than the FAFSA.
4. Help students maximize their opportunities for college scholarships. The college merit process will still be in full swing. With colleges moving up admission application dates for full consideration for merit scholarship opportunities, the early fall is the time to have students tracking and applying on time.

10 major changes to the FAFSA

I attended both the Federal Student Aid "Better FAFSA, Better Future" training this summer, as well as the National College Attainment Network Train-the-trainer Summit in Washington, DC. It was invaluable time spent learning the nuances of the coming FAFSA changes (there are many!) and how these impact the diverse students and families we support. 

Here are the 10 most important changes:

1. Every contributor to the FAFSA is required to have an FSA ID, even parents without a Social Security Number.
   Learn more ↗️
2. Every contributor to the FAFSA is required to provide consent for the IRS to share Federal Tax Information, even students or parents that do not file US tax returns.
   Learn more ↗️
3. For separated or divorced families, the “custodial” parent is now the parent providing greater financial support.
   Learn more ↗️
4. Family size will be determined by dependents on the US tax returns.
   Learn more ↗️
5. Parents who own a business or farm will have to report its net worth as a parent asset, regardless of size.
   Learn more ↗️
6. Only 529 Plans that benefit the student applicant are counted as parent assets, no longer plans benefiting siblings.
   Learn more ↗️
7. There are increased pathways that allow parents to not report their assets.
   Learn more ↗️
8. Families can use their 2022 income to look up their eligibility for the maximum Pell Grant and a Student Aid Index equal to $0.
   Learn more ↗️
9. Number of students in college is still a question on the FAFSA, but will not factor into the Student Aid Index calculation.
10. Students can send the FAFSA to up to 20 colleges on the initial submission.

Counselor resources

Counselor Resource Center for the New FAFSA

I've created a new Resource Center just for counselors! This Center provides you with up-to-date information on the 2024-25 FAFSA and how to support dependent students through this new process.

Each section has detailed information and a Q&A format to answer questions you’ll be getting from students and parents.

2024-25 FAFSA Student Aid Index Calculator

Federal Student Aid and College Board have updated their EFC/SAI calculator to the new Federal Methodology formula. I've created one using on the formula released by Federal Student Aid in May.

Use this as you advise students and families on their financial aid eligibility. 

As always, please reach out to me with any questions or suggestions for topics for the Crunch. 

Until next time,

Paul