New Changes to Financial Aid

FAFSA

• There are fewer questions for students to answer on the application.
• The application will now calculate a Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Students with the highest need may see a negative number.
• Students will need to consent to provide their Federal Tax Information (FTI) via a direct data share with the IRS. All contributors, including parents, step-parents and/or student spouses, must provide FTI consent regardless of tax filing status.
• Students and parents (if applicable) will need an FSA ID to apply for federal student aid. Create your FSA ID to start your application.
• The Student Aid Report (SAR) will now be called the FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS).

• Didn’t submit a 2023–24 FAFSA form? Make sure to create your StudentAid.gov account—and remember your username and password so you can access and submit the 2024–25 FAFSA form.
• Find out if your parent(s) or spouse will need to be contributors (contribute their info on your FAFSA form). Watch the 2024-25 FAFSA Contributor webinar for more information. 
• If your parent(s) or spouse will need to contribute to your form, each contributor will need to create their own StudentAid.gov account. Even if a contributor doesn’t have a Social Security number, they will be able to create an account. 
• Watch the “Preparing for the FAFSA Form” playlist to understand what information and documents you’ll need to fill out the FAFSA form. 

• Students who are classified as Texas residents and cannot apply for federal financial aid using the FAFSA are encouraged to complete the TASFA .
• The 2024-2025 online TASFA is now available on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board TASFA website. While the online TASFA is the preferred method of applying, the paper TASFA is also available and can be submitted to Texas One Stop via email or in person.

The 2024-25 FAFSA form is available online at StudentAid.gov. You’ll need to create an Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID to begin the form. 

Here’s what you should have readily available: 

• Your date of birth, Social Security number, physical address and email address. 
• Your parents’ Social Security numbers (if you are a dependent student). 
• Your driver’s license number (if you have one). 
• Your Alien Registration number (if you are not a U.S. citizen). 
• Tax returns for you, your spouse (if you’re married) or your parents (if you’re a dependent student). 
• Records of child support received for you or your parents (if you’re a dependent student). 
• Current balances of cash, savings and checking accounts. 
• Net worth of investments, businesses and farms. 

Yes, if you are a dependent. Dependent students filling out the form on their own will be prompted to fill in their parents’ full names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and email addresses so that their parents can fill in their information separately. If the student’s parents are divorced or separated, the parent the student lived with more during the last year will need to fill out their portion of the FAFSA. If the student spent equal time with each parent, the one who provides most financial support should fill out the FAFSA.  

For more information about parents filling out the FAFSA, visit http://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa 

We encourage all students to submit their FAFSA as early as possible.

June 30, 2025 is the last day to apply for financial aid for the 2024-24 academic year. 

Once your FAFSA is submitted, the Office of Federal Student Aid will review your information and share it with the schools you listed in the first half of March. You will receive an email indicating that your FAFSA has been processed and sent to your listed colleges. You can log in to your FSA account and check to see if you need to take any further action with your form. 

Students will also receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, which includes a Student Aid Index. The Student Aid Index determines how much financial aid you could receive. Schools will use this number to create your financial aid offer. Your college may contact you if they need additional documentation or information. 

Due to the delayed rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA, schools will not receive the FAFSA information until March. 

After we have received your FAFSA, students should: 

• Check their My Financial Aid portal (coming soon!) for any notifications and outstanding requirements 
• Grant Proxy access (if needed) 
• Review financial aid offer (accept/modify offer) 

Unfortunately, parents who do not have a valid SSN cannot create an FSA ID at this time. FSA announced a nine-step workaround for this issue; however, this does not allow students affected by this issue to submit a completed application. UT Austin encourages students to wait to submit their FAFSA until this issue is corrected in March. Based on current information, we believe that gives students a better chance of getting their FAFSA processed sooner than later.  

Both parents do not need to create an FSA ID if they filed jointly in their U.S. tax returns. However, parents (married/re-married) who filed their taxes separately will need to create an FSA ID individually. Students who have separated/divorced parents will also need the parent who provides the most financial support to create an FSA ID.