Applying for Federal and State Aid

There have been a lot of changes to the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form for the 2024-2025 academic year. One such change was to account for inflationary adjustments as required under the law. The Department of Education is working behind the scenes to ensure the Student Aid Index (SAI) accounts for this change. 

As a result, the Department of Education will not be sending schools and state agencies Institutional Student Information Record (ISIRs) until mid-March. While this will delay students in receiving their financial aid awards for the 2024-25 school year, it is estimated that students across the country will benefit from approximately $1.8 billion in additional aid due to this change, per the Department of Education. Once your FAFSA has been processed and sent to the school you will receive an email from the Department of Education.  

While the FAFSA is typically ready on October 1, this year it will be ready by December 31, 2023.

You can check our website for updates on when the form is ready.  In the meantime, you and your family can get your FSA ID so you will be prepared to fill out the FAFSA.

Want an estimate of what it will cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology? Use our Net Price Calculator

Good question! All students will need an FSA ID.  Parents need one too.  If parents file their taxes separately, they both need one.  If parents file jointly then they only need one between the two of them.

It is best to get your FSA ID early.  It can take a few days for it to be ready to use so do it early.

You Tube Video: How to Create an Account and Username (FSA ID) for StudentAid.gov

We know that the delay in the FAFSA is stressful!  Don’t worry - everyone is going through the same thing right now.

If you want to get a sense of what it will cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology you have two options:
 

1. Use our Net Price Calculator- it will show you the cost after aid is factored in and takes just a few minutes.
2. Reach out to our office and set up an appointment.  You can call 800.448.2339.

We have good news – starting in 2024-25 more students are eligible for Pell grants than ever before and the amount is higher (the new max amount is $7395)!

Pell is calculated based on the Student Aid Index (formerly EFC) which takes into account how much money your parents make and the size of your family to figure out how much you might be able to pay and then how much you need.

The easiest way to figure out how much Pell you might be eligible for is our Net Price Calculator.  You will input how much your income + your parents and it will give you the number.

And the most important thing you can do is fill out the FAFSA since we will need that to award you Pell.  That should be ready sometime in December.
 

EFC and SAI are both numbers that colleges use to figure out how much financial aid you can get. EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution, and SAI stands for Student Aid Index.
 

EFC is based on your family's income and assets. SAI is based on your family's income, assets, and other factors, such as your zip code and your parents' education level.
 

While the words and the numbers are different - what is important to understand is that this number helps colleges determine your eligibility for different types of financial aid including grants, scholarships, loans and work-study programs.  We want to work with you to make sure that Illinois Institute of Technology is affordable.  Please reach out to us at 800.448.2339 so we can help.

With the new FAFSA, you will pick which parent to report based on who provides you with the most financial support. If you are unsure who that is, you may need to ask your parents.

Good question! There are several changes this year and this is one of them.

With the new FAFSA, you will pick which parent to report based on who provides you with the most financial support, even if it isn’t the parent that you live with! If you are not sure who that is, you may need to ask your parents. And if the other parent is hard for you to get in touch with, let us know.

Good question! There are several changes this year and this is one of them.

With the new FAFSA, you will pick which parent to report based on who provides you with the most financial support, even if it isn’t the parent that you live with! The FAFSA calls this your “custodial parent.” In addition, if the “custodial parent” is remarried, you need to include your stepparent’s information (their income, assets, etc), too, as this is one of the factors that will be considered in determining how much aid you may get.

As part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, families no longer receive a “discount” for having more than one child in college at the same time. In years past, the federal government took the total Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) and divided it by the number of children you have in college, but with the Student Aid Index (SAI), this no longer applies.

If your aid changes, you are welcome to consider exploring private loans or outside scholarships. You may also book an appointment with us to compare and review aid eligibility based on your actual SAI. 

As part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, the way that income and assets are calculated is different, and now, even if you have under 100 employees, you have to report the net worth of your business. This change wasn’t great for many small business owners.

If your aid changes, you are welcome to consider exploring private loans or outside scholarships.

 

You will still be able to submit the form without providing consent, but without it, the Student Aid Index will not be calculated, and it will be a challenge to award aid.

We strongly encourage you to provide consent, but know this can be scary. Please reach out to us, and we can talk through this more.

You can also watch the Federal Student Aid Consent and Approval for the 2024-25 FAFSA video.

In the past, everyone saw the same questions on the FAFSA form. This year, there are
significantly fewer questions, and each person only sees the questions they need to answer.
When you log in, as a student with your FSA ID, you will see only the questions you have to
answer. You will enter your parents as contributors, and then they can log in too – and answer the questions made for parents.

Since you each see different questions, you can’t do it for them, but you can certainly help them with it!

The form won’t be considered submitted until you and your parents have completed their
sections.

In the past, everyone saw the same questions on the FAFSA form. This year, there are
significantly fewer questions, and each person only sees the questions they need to answer.
When you log in, as a student with your FSA ID, you will see only the questions you have to
answer. You will enter your parents as contributors, and then they can log in too – and answer the questions made for parents.

Since you each see different questions, you can’t do it for them, but you can certainly help them with it!

The form won’t be considered submitted until you and your parents have completed their
sections.

There are several changes this year, and for some students, these mean a change to the size of your Pell grant.

The good news is that with the changes, more students are eligible for Pell grants than ever
before and the amount is higher (the new max amount is $7395)! We hope you are in this
category.

The bad news? A smaller number of students will receive less Pell than in the past. You may
have fallen into this category if your current package is based on the number of siblings you have in college now or the amount of assets your parents may have in a small business or farm.

Please reach out to discuss how we might help!

The FAFSA includes questions about your race, ethnicity, and gender identity as part of efforts to collect demographic data for statistical and research purposes. This information helps educational institutions and policymakers better understand the diversity of student populations and identify potential disparities in access to educational opportunities. It also helps ensure that financial aid programs are accessible and equitable for all students.

But don’t worry! Providing information about your race, ethnicity, and gender identity on the FAFSA will not impact your eligibility for federal student aid or your financial aid award. This information is separate from the financial details used to determine your aid package. You can choose to provide this information if you're comfortable, but it's optional.

Yes, it is possible to apply for an Unsubsidized Loan without providing your parents' information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The Unsubsidized Loan is a federal student loan that doesn't require demonstrating financial need, so you can apply for it independently.

When you fill out the FAFSA, you'll come across a section called "Dependency Status." If you
meet any of the criteria to be considered an independent student, you won't need to provide your parents' financial information. Some common situations that might make you independent include being at least 24 years old, being married, having dependents of your own, being a veteran, or being an orphan or ward of the court.

If none of these sound like you, but you have another reason for not having your parents’ info on the FAFSA, please reach out to us to discuss.

For dependent students, education savings accounts will only be counted as a parental asset if the account is designated for the student.

An education savings plan (including a 529 plan) is considered to be an asset of the owner and should be reported as an asset (as part of the net worth of investments) on the FAFSA. However, if the plan is owned by the FAFSA parent of record for the benefit of another child (i.e., the beneficiary is not the child/student for whom the FAFSA is being completed), the plan is not reported as an asset of the parent of record.

If the student is the owner of the qualified education benefit, the value of the plan is reported as follows: 

• For a dependent student for whom the FAFSA is being completed and who is the owner of the education savings plan, the value is reported as an asset of the parent of record, even though the parent is not the owner.
• For an independent student who is the owner of the education savings plan, the plan is reported as an asset (as part of the net worth of investments) for the student on the FAFSA.

For more information on Current Net Worth of Investments, visit Federal Student Aid's website.