The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act passed on
December 27, 2020, as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
The 2025-2026 FAFSA is used to determine your financial aid eligibility for the Fall
2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026 terms.
For Indiana residents: The Indiana state aid deadline remains as April 15, 2025, for
filing the 2025-2026 FAFSA.
2025-2026 FAFSA Changes
The term “Contributor”, refers to anyone who is required to provide information on
a student’s FAFSA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological
or adopted parent, or the parent’s spouse. Being a contributor does not imply responsibility
for the student's college costs.
Students will need each contributor’s name, date of birth, mailing address, and email
address to invite them to complete the required portion of the FAFSA.
If your parents are divorced or separated, the contributing parent is the parent who
provided the greater portion of your financial support during the 12 months immediately
prior to filing the FAFSA. It is not automatically the parent you primarily lived
with during the past 12 months. If the contributing parent is remarried, the student
will report the parent and step-parent's information on the FAFSA.
All Contributors–student, student's spouse (if married), and student's parents(s)
(if a dependent student)–must provide consent to have tax data transferred directly
from the IRS to the FAFSA. If consent is not provided by all contributors, the student
will not be eligible for federal financial aid.
All contributors are required to create an FSA ID on the Federal Student Aid website due to consent requirements. This includes contributors,
such as a spouse or a parent(s). The FSA ID username and password created by each
contributor will then be verified by the Department of Education. This process will
take up to 2-3 days to complete. In most cases, this verification process must be
done before starting the FAFSA.
An FSA ID is an account and password that gives you access to the Federal Student
Aid’s online system and serves as your electronic signature.
With the FSA ID, you can fill out the FAFSA, sign your Master Promissory Note (MPN),
apply for repayment plans, complete loan counseling, and use the Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Help Tool.
Once your FAFSA is processed, your result is called the Student Aid Index (SAI). This
information is sent to the colleges you selected on your FAFSA which will be used
to determine your financial aid offers.
You will receive an email from Federal Student Aid with access to your FAFSA Submission
Summary. This is the summary submission document you receive after completing the
FAFSA.
