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Planning Beginner: Education Planning

Introduction to Education Planning Education Planning: Getting Started The College Cost Environment College Still Pays Financial Aid Misconceptions about Your Income Is All Financial Aid a Loan That Must Be Repaid? Are There Really Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Unclaimed Scholarships? Financial Aid: Determining the Student Aid Index Financial Aid: Contributions from Parental Income and Parental Assets Independent Student Status in Financial Aid Coverdell Education Savings Accounts Qualified Tuition Plans (529 Plans) Summary of Education Planning
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Financial Aid: Determining the Student Aid Index

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Financial Aid: Determining the Student Aid Index

Students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to request federal financial aid for college. Generally, the FAFSA is released on October 1 for the school year starting the following autumn. The FAFSA underwent many changes for the 2024–2025 school year. Changes included making the application simpler and shorter, and adjusting the eligibility formulas that assess families’ income and assets.

Things To Know

  • The financial aid form gathers information about the income, assets, and taxes of both student and parents.

New: the student aid index

Also, the expected family contribution (EFC) that was used in the calculation of student aid was replaced with the student aid index (SAI). The SAI is an eligibility index number that colleges use to determine how much federal student aid you would receive if you were to go to those schools. Information that you provide in your FAFSA is used to calculate your SAI.

The SAI includes some new changes, such as leaving out the number of family members in college from its calculation and allowing for a negative SAI, among others.

The applicant’s SAI is determined by one of three formulas:

  • Dependent students
  • Independent students without dependents other than a spouse
  • Independent students with dependents other than a spouse

What a student needs for the financial aid form

The student, not the parent, is responsible for completing a financial aid form. But the student may need the parent’s financial information, depending on whether the student depends financially on that parent. The first part of a financial aid form asks questions to determine whether the student is dependent or independent. An independent student may omit questions about parents’ income, assets, and taxes.

The financial aid form gathers information about the income, assets, and taxes of both student and parents.