SALT LAKE CITY — For many students and families, financial aid is crucial in achieving higher education goals.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is one of the primary ways people receive financial assistance and this year's application is different from previous renditions in terms of the application process itself and when it opens.

"Not only has the FAFSA form changed fundamentally, the financial aid need analysis formula was changed as well," said Anthony Jones, executive director of scholarships and financial aid at the University of Utah, "These are changes that change things that have been around for more than 30 years."

Completing the FAFSA directly correlates to college affordability for many students, as it is the only way to receive federal Pell Grants — essentially free money for college — and federally subsidized student loans.

One of the most obvious changes is the timing of the application. The FAFSA application usually becomes available to people on Oct. 1, but this year, the U.S. Department of Education has delayed the form for the 2024-2025 school year until Dec. 31.

Jones said the application form itself will be more streamlined and simplified, letting people skip questions that don't apply to them. Instead of making people transfer tax information manually, this year's new FAFSA formula will pull federal tax information directly from the IRS, cutting 108 questions down to less than 50.

As for this year's delayed opening, Jones said the effects remain to be seen.

"Some of the concerns are, if we already had FAFSAs submitted, we could begin looking at them to at minimum give estimates, if not go ahead and make financial aid offers to students. So it will cause a delay in students and families knowing what they may be eligible for," Jones said, adding that he's hopeful the delay will only be a month or two.

The delayed opening of the FAFSA form is a one-time thing for this year and the Education Department says next year's FAFSA cycle will return to its regular opening on Oct. 1.

To this end, Jones stressed the importance of completing this year's FAFSA as soon as possible on or after Dec. 31.

"It will be important because there could be these delays so the sooner you're in, the sooner we in the schools can take action on it," Jones said.

Related:

Utah high school seniors are missing out on millions of dollars in free college aid

Utah has the second lowest FAFSA completion rate in the country, meaning the state's high school seniors left $42 million of free Pell Grant money on the table in 2022.

Along with the changes to the application to streamline the whole process, the Education Department also noted that the new changes are expected to extend maximum Pell Grant access to over 1.5 million more students, bringing the total amount of those eligible to 5.2 million.

"It will still look at income and assets of the family but they changed, particularly, qualification for the Pell Grant to now look at what percentage are you above the poverty line, which is a different measure than it used to look at," Jones said.

Currently, the maximum Pell Grant award is $7,395.

So, with the delayed opening coming with a streamlined process and more opportunities for assistance, what should students and families be doing now to ensure they can hit the ground running when the application opens on Dec. 31?

The number one thing, Jones said, is for anyone required to contribute information to the FAFSA to have a studentaid.gov account ID (previously called a Federal Student Aid ID). This can be set up online here.

"Everybody needs their own," Jones said. "Let's say the student and the parent who's going to sign the FAFSA — and if it's two different parents then all three would need to have their own ID — and they could get their ID today. They don't have to wait till Dec. 31. The number one thing we're encouraging people to do is get their ID if they don't have one."

Jones said he believes the overall changes to the application should be positive, but the delayed opening is a slight concern and he hopes it doesn't stop people from applying.

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