What you need to know
The good news: the new FAFSA form is not changing from last year’s major revision.
The bad news: it will not be widely available until December.
This article will help you understand why you should do an estimated Student Aid Index (SAI) now and what you can do to be ready to file the FAFSA when it is available.
Background:
- On June 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) announced it was working toward an October 1 release date for the 2025-26 FAFSA cycle and “to ensure a smooth user experience … the form will remain consistent” with the prior year form.
- On August 7, 2024, ED announced that:
- The new form will be launched in a two-step process. On October 1, the form will be available to a limited test group of students and colleges. By December 1, ED plans to make the application available to all students.
- More information about the test group will be coming soon. ED promises details about how the test group will work including how applicants may sign up to be included in the test group, which will initially start with “hundreds and expanding to tens of thousands of applicants.”
- ED’s 2025-26 FAFSA updates are mostly behind-the-scenes tweaks to technical items in the charts, such as income protection allowance values as an example, that feed into the formulas for determing SAI. The inputs required from students and contributors are unchanged from last year.
- MyCollegeCorner’s 2024-25 SAI Estimator, which had nearly 500,000 page views, has been updated for the 2025-26 FAFSA changes. Use the free SAI Calculator to ESTIMATE a student’s Student Aid Index.
What you can do NOW to be ready to file the FAFSA later
- Use this free Student Aid Index Estimator. An early estimate of a student’s SAI can help shape a college list with schools that are likely to be most affordable. Unlike other SAI tools that offer users only a number, My College Corner’s SAI Estimator offers users a robust experience: help screens, context about what SAI means, FAQs, and a downloadable report. NOTE: A student’s “official” Student Aid Index, used to award financial aid, can only come from the U.S. Department of Education which transmits it to the colleges after receiving and processing a student’s completed FAFSA.
- Identify contributors, usually parent(s) or guardians, who will provide financial information. The FAFSA requires income and asset information for the student and parents. For separated or divorced parents, the parent who provided the most financial support for the child in the prior year is the one who needs to provide the prior-prior year tax information.
- Make sure tax forms for 2023 have been filed and are correct for the student and contributor(s) who need to provide tax information.
- Gather asset information. Information about student and contributor income comes from 2023 tax filings, but asset information comes from current statements. Take some time to identify which assets need to be reported and how you will derive the value of the asset, particularly the value of small businesses and farms.
- Go to Studentaid.gov and create an FSA ID for the student and contributor(s). This ID will be used by the student and contributor for a variety of items. The FSA ID is akin to a Social Security number in that, once assigned, it does not change. If you already have an FSA ID (perhaps for another student), you are all set. Use that FSA ID for this year’s FAFSA process. If you do not have one or if your student does not have one, create it now. No sense waiting. Both the student and the contributor need their own respective FSA IDs.
- Know the college and state FAFSA filing deadlines. States and colleges have different deadlines to file the FAFSA form. Check your state’s FAFSA filing deadline and the filing deadline for each college to which your student plans to send an application. These deadlines are often inflexible, so do this ASAP. Check to see if additional applications may be required as well.
- Look for scholarships to reduce the cost of college. Free money is good money, and there is plenty out there. Try this free Scholarship Search at MyCollegeCorner.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Student Aid Index (“SAI”) different from the Expected Family Contribution (“EFC”).
Yes. ED recently simplified the FAFSA form by reducing the number of questions asked, changing the formulas for calculating student eligibility for federal financial aid, and replacing the EFC with the SAI.
Who should file the FAFSA for Academic Year 2025-26?
The short answer: all students who will be enrolled in college and would like to be considered for any form of financial aid in Award Year 25-26.
Even students in the most affluent households with high incomes and lots of assets could benefit from filing a FAFSA. Studentaid.gov offers excellent information about the many types of student aid offered including the Direct Student Loan Program, Work-Study Programs, and grants.
Some federal aid programs do not require students to be in low-earning households. For example, all students, regardless of their family’s financial situation or their SAI, are eligible for a Direct Student Loan. To get a Direct Student Loan, however, students MUST file the FAFSA. No FAFSA – no loan.
What is the FSA ID used for?
The FSA ID is the key to engaging with ED for several purposes including:
- Filing the FAFSA form
- Signing for a federal student loan
- Applying for federal loan repayment plans
- Completing required federal loan counseling
Is it better to have a high or low Student Aid Index (SAI)?
A student’s SAI indicates their relative need for financial aid.
A low SAI indicates a student with less capacity to pay and therefore more financial need. It is possible to have a zero or a negative SAI as low as -$1,500. On a relative scale, students with greater financial need are identified as their SAI approaches -$1,500, with -$1,500 indicating the students with the greatest financial need. These students are eligible for the most aid including maximum Pell grants. Likewise, students with SAIs that are greater than $0 are identified as those needing less financial aid given their greater personal or family resources to pay the college bill.
Many colleges use the SAI as a proxy for the amount they expect a student to pay for college.
What is a negative SAI?
A zero or negative SAI indicates a student with the most relative need for financial aid. A student with a -$1,500 SAI has less capacity to pay (and therefore needs more aid) than a student with an SAI of -$750 or 0 or $750.
A negative SAI does not mean that a student will qualify for more money than the cost of attendance. Total aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance. And there is no guarantee that a college will offer financial aid up to the amount for which a student is eligible. The SAI is purely a measure of need, not the actual cost a student will pay when all is said and done.
Should students only apply to colleges if they have a low Student Aid Index?
No. The SAI calculates eligibility for need-based financial aid based on the U.S. Department of Education’s formula. Colleges and universities award billions of dollars of merit-based aid that are subjectively awarded based on non-financial criteria. In addition to athletes and intellectually gifted students, colleges also award merit-based financial aid for a host of other reasons. Perhaps they need a talented musician for the orchestra, a skilled debater, or seek to influence the geographic diversity of the class. Institutional merit aid often fills these gaps without a prospective student applying for this aid or having financial need. Still, completing the FAFSA may be a requirement in some cases.
For reasons like this, it’s virtually impossible for a student to know the actual cost they will be asked to pay to attend a specific college until they receive a Financial Aid Award letter. Prior to that critical piece of information, it’s all conjecture.
The Last Word
The process of planning and paying for college is stressful enough for families without the added pressure of a delayed FAFSA form. But this does not mean that you need to be paralyzed awaiting word of when the form will be available.
Today, you can prepare for the moment when the FAFSA form will be available by getting an estimated SAI, applying for an FSA ID, and following the other tips mentioned to prepare. Time is on your side. Use it wisely.