What’s the latest news about the FAFSA? Can I still file?
Most of the problems with the FAFSA that led to significant processing delays have now been addressed. Most families should be able to file and make any necessary corrections. If you haven’t already done it, it is important that you now file your FAFSA so we can determine your eligibility for need-based financial aid.
I have filed the FAFSA–how can I be sure that Transylvania receives my information?
It usually takes a few days for us to receive your FAFSA information from the Department of Education. After we receive it — most of the time — we will be able to automatically use your information to generate a financial aid offer. If we cannot prepare your financial aid offer, we will reach out to you about any information or clarification we need from you. If we have contacted you to say that we haven’t received your FAFSA, or if you wish to verify that we received it, contact Financial Aid.
I have filed the FAFSA–why don’t you have it?
There are a few reasons we might not have received or been able to match up your FAFSA information to your admission information. You may not have listed Transylvania as one of the colleges to receive your FAFSA information. If you didn’t, you can now log back in and add us.
Another common issue is that you may not have provided your Social Security number on your application for admission. We need that to match up your FAFSA to your student record. We make an effort to review our unmatched FAFSAs and track these issues down, but we’re not always successful. If you think we might not have your SSN, please call us at 859-233-8239. We cannot resolve these issues via email.
What are the biggest differences between the old and new version of the FAFSA?
Beyond this year’s delayed launch date, students and parents should expect to answer fewer questions than they did on the old version of the FAFSA. Ideally, nearly all required financial information will come directly from the IRS.
The 2024-25 FAFSA introduces the concept of information “contributors” to the FAFSA. These are individuals who must each add their information to the FAFSA separately. In many cases, there will be two contributors to the FAFSA — the student and a parent. In cases where the student’s parents are married but filed separate tax returns (not typical), the student and both parents may be required to each separately contribute their financial information to the FAFSA. A student or parent can initiate the student’s FAFSA and then invite the other to contribute their information by providing the other individual’s key identifiers.
The change to the FAFSA may affect which parent’s information should be provided on the FAFSA in cases of divorce or separation. In the past, this has primarily been determined by which of their parents the student lived with the most. Beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA, this will now be decided by which parent provides the most financial support for the student. Be sure to read the instructions carefully if this applies to you.
In addition to these changes, families should now expect to report family business and farm net worth that has not been required to be reported in the past. Also, the number of family members attending college will no longer factor into the need analysis formula. These changes may reduce some students’ eligibility for need-based financial aid.
When can families expect to receive their financial aid offers?
We began mailing admitted students’ financial aid offers in April. Returning students’ financial aid offers will be prepared after grades for the academic year have been finalized.
We send financial aid offers to our students via U.S. postal mail but rely on email to communicate with you about any missing information we may need from you. Please be sure to monitor the email account you provided on your application for admission in case we need to follow up for more information to be able to prepare your financial aid offer letter.
How will the updated FAFSA benefit students?
The goal is simplification! Students and parents should be required to answer fewer questions, and a much larger portion of the financial information should come directly from the IRS. We also think more financially needy students are likely to be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, but we also know that changes of this scope may have some unintended consequences.
How will Transylvania respond to changes to the FAFSA in terms of need-based financial aid?
We’re hopeful more students will be eligible for more federal and state need-based financial aid as a result of these changes. We have an ongoing commitment to provide our own need-based grant funds to supplement students’ eligibility for federal and state programs. Our Pell Guarantee (formerly 1780 Guarantee) will continue for students who qualified in 2023-24 and for those who are admitted to begin enrollment in fall 2024 and meet its requirements. As we begin to receive FAFSA data for our current students, we will be mindful of students who may experience negative impacts to financial aid eligibility due to these changes and make efforts to mitigate these impacts where possible.
What should students and families do if they have questions about the new FAFSA?
Our financial aid team will be happy to assist you with any questions you have about the 2024-25 FAFSA. Please keep in mind that these changes are significant for us too, and, in some cases, we’ll be learning as we go. We’ll appreciate your patience and understanding. The more students we help, the more prepared we’ll be for the next student’s questions. Please get in touch with us at financialaid@transy.edu or 859-233-8239.
While this year brings definite challenges in terms of the timing of the rollout and quite a bit of re-learning for anyone who has completed a FAFSA in the past, we’re hopeful that completing the FAFSA will eventually become an easier and more user-friendly experience.