Confused about new FAFSA for sophomore in college - what's different for 2025-2026?

omg the new fafsa is so much worse than the old one!! my son is a junior and we had to redo everything this year. the SAI calculation is way different and we ended up getting $3200 less in aid even though our income actually went DOWN slightly. make sure u start early cuz the website kept crashing when we tried to do it

The new FAFSA has several significant changes that affect returning students: 1) The old Expected Family Contribution (EFC) has been replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI) 2) The income protection allowance has increased, which may benefit some families 3) Small business and family farm exemptions have been modified 4) The number of contributors who need to provide information has changed (fewer siblings need to report) 5) The calculation formula weights income differently For returning students, I recommend scheduling an appointment with your daughter's financial aid office to discuss how these changes specifically impact her aid package. Each situation is unique based on family size, income brackets, and assets.

I HATE the new system with a burning passion! They promised it would be "simpler" but it's MORE complicated and LESS transparent about how they calculate everything. My son is also a sophomore and we just went through this nightmare. The formula screwed us over completely - went from decent aid to practically nothing because they now count my retirement differently or something??? The whole thing is designed to LOOK like they're helping more people while ACTUALLY giving less money. Classic government bait and switch.

I just went through this with my junior. The biggest changes that affected us: - The income protection allowance increased (good for most families) - They now use different tax elements to calculate your contribution - Multiple students in college is weighted differently (this hurt us) - Some assets are treated differently in the formula For returning students, the timing is also different. We had to submit by December 15th for priority consideration instead of February like previous years. Double-check your daughter's school's priority deadline - some schools moved them up with the new system.

When I tried calling Federal Student Aid about similar questions for my daughter (junior), I kept getting disconnected or stuck on hold forever. I finally used Claimyr.com and got through to a real person in about 10 minutes. They connected me directly to an FSA agent who explained all the changes and how they would affect returning students. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent told me that for returning students, the biggest impact usually comes from the changed income protection allowance and how they treat siblings in college. Definitely worth talking to them directly about your specific situation.

my daughters financial aid guy at school said that for lots of middle class families the SAI ends up being pretty close to what the EFC was, but the formula gets there differently. they told us that the biggest change for returning students is actually on the school side - how they distribute their institutional aid. maybe check with your daughters specific school about how THEY'RE handling the transition?

also don't forget they need contributor info differently now!! my ex husband had to make an FSA ID this time even tho he didn't before and it was a HUGE hassle getting him to do it. make sure anyone who needs to contribute info knows in advance

To address your question about multiple students in college: Yes, that's one of the more significant changes. The old FAFSA divided your family contribution by the number of college students in your household, which substantially reduced each student's EFC. The new formula still accounts for multiple students but with a less generous adjustment. Regarding tax information, they now use different tax elements but still pull most data directly from the IRS using the Data Retrieval Tool. The biggest change is how they interpret that tax data in the formula, not what you need to report. I recommend starting the application early this year since the new system has had more technical issues than usual.

hey just wanted to add that even if your income is the same the new formula might give u totally different results. my daughter got way more aid under the new system cuz of some changes to how they count our specific income type. but my nephew got less. it's super specific to your situation so don't assume it'll be worse!

I'm also dealing with the new FAFSA changes for my sophomore daughter and it's been incredibly stressful! From what I've gathered reading through everyone's experiences, it seems like the impact really varies by family situation. The change from EFC to SAI, the different treatment of multiple students in college, and the modified income calculations are all hitting families differently. One thing that's helped me is creating a spreadsheet to track the differences between our old FAFSA info and what we'll need to report this year. I'm also planning to submit early since so many people mentioned technical issues with the new system. Has anyone found good resources for understanding exactly how the new income protection allowance works? I keep seeing it mentioned as potentially beneficial but I can't find clear information about who it helps most. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - it's making me feel less alone in this confusing process!

I'm a newcomer here but going through the exact same thing with my daughter who's also a sophomore! Reading through all these responses has been both helpful and terrifying honestly. It sounds like the new FAFSA is really a mixed bag - some families are getting more aid, others are getting less, and it's hard to predict which category you'll fall into until you actually submit. What I'm taking away from everyone's experiences is: 1) Start early because of technical issues, 2) The multiple-students-in-college benefit isn't as good anymore (which affects us too), 3) Each school might handle the transition differently, and 4) The contributor requirements have changed in ways that could complicate things with non-custodial parents. I think I'm going to follow Freya's spreadsheet idea and also look into that Claimyr service Isaac mentioned since getting through to Federal Student Aid directly seems nearly impossible. Has anyone else had success with alternative ways to get real human help with understanding these changes? Thanks everyone for sharing your real experiences - the official resources are so confusing but hearing what actually happened to real families is incredibly valuable!

I'm new to this community but dealing with the exact same situation with my junior! After reading through everyone's experiences, I'm realizing how unpredictable these changes are - it's really concerning that families won't know the impact until they submit. One thing I haven't seen mentioned much is whether there are any good FAFSA calculators that work with the new formula? The old EFC estimators obviously don't help anymore, and it would be nice to get some idea of what to expect before going through the whole process. Also, for those who mentioned technical issues with the new system - are there specific times of day that seem to work better? I'm planning to start early but want to avoid the worst of the crashes if possible. Thanks to everyone sharing their real experiences - it's so much more helpful than the official resources that just give vague explanations about the changes!

I'm new to this community but dealing with the same FAFSA changes for my sophomore! After reading through everyone's experiences, I'm both relieved to know I'm not alone in this confusion and worried about what we might face. A few questions based on what I've read here: For those who experienced significant changes in aid amounts - were you able to appeal or work with your school's financial aid office to adjust? And has anyone found that submitting earlier in the process (like December vs January) actually made a difference in aid awards, or is it just about avoiding technical issues? I'm particularly concerned about the multiple-students-in-college changes since we'll have two kids in school next year. It sounds like that benefit was significantly reduced, which is really disappointing since that's been a major part of our financial planning. Thanks to everyone for sharing their real experiences - it's incredibly helpful to hear what actually happened to families rather than trying to decipher the official government explanations that seem designed to confuse rather than clarify!

I'm also new to this community and going through the exact same stress with my sophomore daughter! Reading through everyone's experiences has been both reassuring (that I'm not alone) and terrifying (seeing how unpredictable the outcomes are). What's really striking me is how the impact seems so random - some families getting more aid, others getting thousands less, even with similar income situations. It makes me wonder if there are specific income ranges or family circumstances that are getting hit harder than others by the new formula. I'm definitely taking everyone's advice about starting early and being prepared for technical issues. Has anyone found it helpful to complete practice runs or gather all documents well in advance? I'm thinking of treating this like tax prep and having everything organized before I even attempt to log in. Also really appreciate the tip about checking with the school directly about how they're handling the transition - that seems like it could make a huge difference depending on their institutional aid policies. Thanks to everyone for sharing your real experiences instead of just the confusing official explanations!