Several changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid will make more students eligible to receive financial assistance this year. 

The new FAFSA, which was released on Dec. 31, is a simplified version with 36 questions, instead of 108 which it previously contained, and revisions to the aid formula. 

In past years, the FAFSA included an expected family contribution, which was a measure of a student’s ability to pay for college. With expected family contribution, questions like how many other relatives were currently in college, altered the calculation. 

Now, the student aid index is the federal metric to calculate a student’s ability to pay. This new measure does not account for other family members and allows for a student’s index to also be a negative number, with a minimum of -1,500, instead of zero. 

With the new formula, the Department of Education intends to expand access to Pell Grants. In New Hampshire, an additional 12,000 students will be newly eligible for these grants, according to federal data. More than 24,000 students will also be eligible for the maximum grant amount, which was $7,395 for the 2023-24 school year. 

In order to graduate from high school, seniors now will have to complete a FAFSA or sign a waiver to opt-out under a new state law. Other states with similar policies have seen an increase in competition rates for eligible students, according to the National College Attainment Network. 

“The federal enhancements to the FAFSA are expected to benefit thousands more NH families, making college and other post-secondary options such as trade school more accessible for many students who may have thought it was out of reach,” said Christiana Thornton the CEO and president of Granite Edvance CEO, a statewide nonprofit focused on educational choices for students. 

Typically, FAFSA forms are released on Oct 1 each year, however, with these federal changes the release was delayed for the 2024-25 school year. Now, the form is in a trial period, where it is available for short periods of time while the site is monitored for performance. 

Granite Edvance provides free support for students, families and educators for FAFSA applications. Education and career counselors are trained to help prepare the new form with both online and in-person services available.