U.S. Department of Education Opens 2024-2025 FAFSA Portal, What You Need To Know

It has been a lengthy wait, but students can now finally submit their applications for federal student aid for college after a three month delay, although some modifications have been made.

The U.S. Department of Education recently updated the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to help more students become eligible for federal aid and to provide a “streamlined user experience,” with some students having to answer only 18 questions. Over 610,000 students nationwide will become qualified for Pell Grants, which are typically not required to be paid back. Forms filled out during this period will not need to be resubmitted once the application is officially released.

The Office of Federal Student Aid has begun a “soft-launch” of the FAFSA application but is still monitoring any reported issues. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators declared on Tuesday that many people are unable to even open the application, much less complete it.

Justin Draege, NASFAA President, expressed that the soft-launch rollout this weekend was difficult and that the people who have been anticipating its release for a while. With many students, parents, and financial aid administrators waiting the reveal of the new application site, the initial launch left many unable to gain access and very annoyed.

Who is eligible to apply?

No matter the household income, the Department of Education advises all students to fill out the application, which is used by both the federal administration and the student’s school to decide if they qualify.

What is the deadline for submitting the application?

For the 2024-2025 school year, the United States Department of Education has set June 30th, 2025 as the final cutoff date for applications. Nevertheless, many individual universities and colleges have their own deadlines that may fall earlier than June. The Department additionally recommends that the entire application process should take about an hour to finish.

What are the benefits of filing the FAFSA?

By submitting a FAFSA application, students can access a range of financial aid opportunities, such as grants, scholarships, loans and work-study opportunities. All of these are meant to assist with the expense of college.

Residents of Arizona may be able to take advantage of the Arizona Promise Program if their Pell Grants or other scholarships fail to cover all of their educational expenses.

Students graduating high school from low-income households and having a GPA of 2.5 or over who will be attending a public Arizona university in the fall are aided by this program. All those eligible who submit the FAFSA until the 1st of April in their senior year of high school will receive the necessary funding.

How much of an amount will I get?

If you’re curious about the types of aid you could be eligible for, the Department of Education offers a Federal Student Aid Estimator, which can be used by students and parents with the necessary financial data. The whole process should take about 10 minutes.

To Apply:

Families must get an FSA ID on the Federal Student Aid website. This ID is confidential and will be used for each subsequent FAFSA completion, which must be done every year.