Applying for college financial aid? Here’s what’s different about this year’s FAFSA

Students applying for college financial aid can start filling out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) now. The updated form launched last week — the earliest it’s been available in the program’s history, according to the Department of Education. Experts are hopeful that other new changes will streamline the process for students and college financial aid advisors and prevent delays.

Students wishing to receive financial aid for the 2026-27 school year need to submit an application to be considered for federal student loans and grants. Congress in 2020 passed the FAFSA Simplification Act to make the application process easier, but previous cycles since then have had problems.

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“I think the 2026-27 FAFSA may be what the original intent was in simplifying the FAFSA,” said Sarah Austin, policy analyst at the National Association of Student Aid Administrators.

Here are four things you need to know about this year’s new FAFSA and other changes to federal financial aid.

FAFSA is back on schedule — and experimenting with earlier access, too

Two years ago, the FAFSA for the 2024-25 year didn’t open for applications until December 2023 due to technical issues, such as online error messages and incorrect student aid estimates.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the delay helped cause 9% fewer high school seniors and first-time applicants to submit a FAFSA during the 2024-25 cycle. The Century Foundation found that students who lived in communities with high poverty rates, as well as those with predominantly Black and Latino residents, had a 20% greater chance of not completing the FAFSA that year in comparison to other students.

Last year, FAFSA opened in late November – still more than a month later than the traditional October start.

The delays gave students less time to complete the form, as well as condensed the turnaround time for schools to process the data and get financial aid offers out to students, Austin said.

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Many students in those years “probably just didn’t fill it out and then didn’t go to college,” said Luke Skurman, CEO of Niche, a platform that provides reviews and rankings for schools and colleges and information on financial aid. High school seniors who complete the FAFSA form are 84% more likely to pursue secondary education immediately after graduation, according to the National College Attainment Network.

To prevent future delays, the Education Department’s Federal Student Aid office opened up beta testing periods where selected students could fill out their FAFSA form as early as August or during a second phase in September. Students got an email if they were selected, and if they completed the form, they would not need to apply again after it fully opened to the public.

“I think it’s really promising that it’s already being completed by students. Schools are already receiving FAFSAs,” Austin said. So far, 125,000 applications have started as of last Friday, according to the Department of Education.

Another change that can speed up the application process is a quick verification tool using a student’s Social Security number. This new update can verify a student’s identity immediately, compared to the previous process that took one to three days.

The change is significant for first-time FAFSA filers who need to create an account, Austin said. Instead of having to start the process and return after verification, they can likely complete the entire application in one go.

Students can also invite a contributor, such as a parent or family member, to help complete their FAFSA form through email. If the student adds an email address that the contributor has access to, then that person will receive an invitation to complete their portion without needing to create their own FAFSA account.

A new formula for calculating student aid

Financial aid offices at colleges and universities will now determine a student’s aid package based on a Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

The SAI is a score ranging from -1500 to 999999 based on information students put on their FAFSA. A negative SAI demonstrates a higher need for financial aid. The number is not your final financial aid offer or the dollar amount you will receive in your financial aid package.

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The main difference between the SAI and the EFC is that the SAI does not take into account small-business farms, family-farm assets or family fish businesses. And a bigger deal for maybe more families: It no longer takes into consideration the number of students in college at the same time. Under the previous formula, multiple college students in one family counted toward a lower EFC, which meant more financial aid.

“If you had two kids in college at the same time, that drastically impacted your EFC. It really almost cut it in half, or did cut it in half in some situations,” said Austin. According to the Brookings Institution, students with one or two siblings in college will have an SAI score that is roughly two or three times higher than their EFC, leading to less financial aid than before.

Tweaking eligibility for high-need Pell Grants

Pell Grants, federal awards for undergraduate students who have “exceptional need,” will be subject to a new limit, due to changes passed in President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful” spending cut law.

The change, which goes into effect in July 2026, is major for those “specific students,” Austin said, but the number of students who fit that criteria is “relatively small.” According to the National College Attainment Network, nearly 7 million undergraduate students receive a Pell Grant each year. The grants are not loans, but funds from the government that do not need to be repaid.

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“I think this was Congress’ attempt to fix that so that families who may have artificially low adjusted gross incomes (AGI) and lots of assets will not be Pell-eligible,” said MorraLee Keller, a senior consultant at the National College Attainment Network.

The Pell Grant calculation is now separate from the Student Aid Index, where previously Pell was tied to the Expected Family Contribution.

Students whose SAI is double the maximum Pell Grant or more will not be eligible to receive any Pell funds — $7,395 is the maximum Pell award for the 2025-26 year. Applicants can fall into this category if a student and their family have a low AGI but a high number of assets. This is because the Pell Grant calculation is based on income alone, while the SAI “has much more to it,” Austin said.

Another change is that students cannot receive a Pell Grant on top of other non-federal aid — such as state, institutional and outside scholarships — if the sum of those funds exceed the cost of tuition and other related fees. The Institute for College Access and Success notes that the change “is likely to mostly affect student athletes who receive full-ride scholarships.”

Any foreign income exclusion amount reported in the FAFSA will now also be added to an applicant’s AGI when determining Pell Grant eligibility.

One way the program has expanded is through the workforce Pell Grant program, which allows access to financial aid for short-term job training programs. Students enrolled in programs between 150 and 599 clock hours per 8 to 15 weeks will now be eligible for Pell Grants, in contrast with the minimum of 600 clock hours per 15 weeks previously required. The Institute for College Access & Success says that it has not yet been proven that this expansion is a good investment and if there is sufficient funding to cover it over time.

Now that FAFSA season is open, when is the deadline?

The federal deadline to submit the FAFSA form for the 2026-27 school year is June 30, 2027, but many states and colleges have different, earlier deadlines for priority consideration for financial aid. Check with your school’s financial aid office about their own application deadlines.

Hannah Grabenstein contributed reporting.