FINANCIAL AID RESOURCES
The U.S Department of Education made an unprecedented announcement on January 30, 2024 that schools and states agencies will not begin to receive Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) until the first half of March. ISIR records were transmitted in small batches initially and will continue to be delivered in batches following the Department of Education’s timeline. This delivery of ISIRs will greatly impact the University of Pittsburgh’s ability to send financial aid offers to our first-year admitted students.
We have started sending out financial aid offers. This process will take a couple of weeks to work through the backlog. If you have any questions once you receive your FA offer, contact our office. We will continue to monitor and update this site for any changes to our financial aid offer timeline. If you are a currently enrolled University of Pittsburgh student, using federal financial aid, who files a FAFSA each year, your financial aid offers will be sent in early summer.
Student corrections are now available for applicants and their contributors. Students who need to make corrections or who choose to make additions to their FAFSA can now begin to do so. Please note it can take up to three days before schools receive corrections.
The new 2024-2025 FAFSA Form
The new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) is currently available for short periods. The new form is designed to significantly improve, streamline, and redesign the FAFSA process to enhance and simplify the process for students and families. The sooner you can fill out your FAFSA form, the better.
What’s Next?
We strongly recommend you create your StudentAid.gov account before starting your FAFSA form. When you create your account, be careful to enter your name and Social Security number (SSN) exactly as they appear on your Social Security card.
On the 2024-2025 FAFSA form, every contributor- anyone (you, your spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, or your parent’s spouse) who’s required to provide information on the FAFSA form—needs a StudentAid.gov account before accessing and completing their section of the online form. Contributors can access their StudentAid.gov account by using their FSA ID (account username and password).
Note: Contributors without an SSN can create a StudentAid.gov account to fill out their portion of your 2024–25 FAFSA form online. Contributors that have previously signed the FAFSA by printing and mailing in the ‘Parent Signature page’ will now need to create an FSA ID to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
To start the online 2024–25 FAFSA form, select “Start New Form.” You’ll be taken to the “Log In” page to enter your account username and password. After logging in, you’ll be given the option to select your applicable role to fill out the FAFSA form: “Student” or “Parent.” You (the student) should select “Student.” If a parent wants to start their dependent child’s FAFSA form, they should select the “Parent” option.
- Expanded eligibility for federal student aid.
- Reduced barriers for specific student populations like homeless and unaccompanied youth, incarcerated students, and English language learners.
- Students can list up to 20 colleges.
- The form will be available in more languages.
- The Student Aid Index (SAI) will replace the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
- Automatic Pell Grant awards for some students.
- Changes in reporting requirements for family farms and small businesses as assets.
The FAFSA is undergoing significant changes due to the FAFSA Simplification Act passed by Congress in 2020. The act aims to overhaul the processes and systems used to award federal student aid. The changes are designed to make the application process more streamlined, expand eligibility for federal student aid, and reduce barriers for specific student populations such as homeless and unaccompanied youth, incarcerated students, and English language learners. The goal is to make the financial aid process more accessible and straightforward for students and their families.
The FAFSA was made available in December 2023. You are now able to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA at studentaid.gov.
If you have not done so, BOTH students and parents should create a FSA ID . Make sure that you have the tax information requested on the FAFSA, which will be for tax year 2022.
The IRS Direct Data Exchange is a feature that will be required in the 2024-25 FAFSA application process. It allows applicants to directly import their tax information from the IRS into the FAFSA form. This eliminates the need for manual entry of financial details, reducing the risk of errors and making the process more efficient. To use it, applicants will need to authenticate their identity on the IRS website during the FAFSA application process. Once authenticated, tax information can be securely transferred into the FAFSA form, streamlining the financial information submission process.
Yes, the 2024-25 FAFSA application has been redesigned to offer a more streamlined and user-friendly experience. One of the major changes is the shorter form, which aims to make the application process quicker and less cumbersome. Additionally, the application will be available in multiple languages, making it more accessible to a diverse range of students. The IRS Direct Data Exchange will also be required, simplifying the financial information submission process. These changes are part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, which aims to make the financial aid process more straightforward and accessible.
The Student Aid Index (SAI) is a new metric that will replace the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) in the 2024-25 FAFSA. Both SAI and EFC are used to determine a student’s eligibility for federal financial aid, but they are calculated differently. The SAI aims to provide a more accurate representation of a family’s financial situation and ability to contribute to educational costs. Unlike EFC, which was often misunderstood to be the exact amount a family is expected to contribute, SAI is designed to be more transparent and straightforward. It will also not consider the number of family members in college, which was a factor in EFC calculations. The introduction of SAI is part of the broader changes to make the financial aid process more accessible and equitable.
While waiting for a financial aid offer letter, please ensure that you are reviewing and responding with necessary information to any communication that we provide. This will ensure a timely process of your offer letter when we begin to send those to prospective first-year students.
The Department of Education announced that schools and families/students will not be able to make changes to their FAFSA until mid-April. The Department of Education will announce when individuals are able to make these changes and we will update this site to reflect those announcements.
The new FAFSA aims to positively impact students from low-income backgrounds through several changes. One significant change is the expansion of eligibility for federal student aid, making it easier for low-income students to qualify for financial assistance. Additionally, some students will automatically be awarded a Pell Grant, which is often crucial for low-income families. The application process itself is also being streamlined to be more user-friendly, reducing the complexity that can often be a barrier for low-income families unfamiliar with the financial aid process. Overall, the changes are designed to make the system more equitable and accessible, potentially benefiting students from low-income backgrounds the most.
The term “custodial parent” is redefined to focus on the parent who provides the most financial support, rather than the one with whom the child primarily resides. This shift means that both parents might have to submit their financial information. If the custodial parent has remarried, the stepparent’s financial details are also required.
Family size becomes a crucial factor under the new rules. It influences which parent should claim the children as dependents on their federal income tax return. The act also opens the door to considering multiple support agreements, where both parents contribute to their child’s upbringing either equally or in alternating years.
Additional resources about financial aid and scholarships can be found HERE.