2024-2025 FAFSA Updates

All contributors to the FAFSA need to create an account  at studentaid.gov. 

Use your FSA ID, email, or phone number, and your password to log in to your account, access the FAFSA form, answer questions, provide consent, and sign the FAFSA form electronically.

TAP  (Tuition Assistance Program) GRANT

If you are a New York State resident, please be sure to complete the New York State TAP Application .

• Search for “FIT."
• Associates degree code is 2070
• Bachelor's degree code is 0975. 

If you have applied for TAP in the past, please be aware that the TAP application will be available to file once New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) receives your FAFSA. The estimated time for the  Department of Education (DOE) to send your application to New York State will be the end of March. Please wait until NYS HESC receives your FAFSA to file your TAP application.

Excelsior Scholarship

The Excelsior Scholarship may cover full tuition for eligible New York State residents Sign up on the HESC website to be notified when the application becomes available:.

• If you are a dependent student: indicate your parent(s). Make sure they have a working email.
• One parent (if single parent) or if parents are married and filed joint 2022 tax returns.
• Two parents (if parents are married, filed separately in 2022). Each parent will need an FSA ID. This includes the stepparent if the parent completing the FAFSA is remarried.
• For other parent situations not listed above, refer to your FAFSA for instructions.
• If you are married: Indicate your spouse. Make sure they have a working email.

Watch this quick video from Federal Student Aid, Who Is a Contributor on the 2024–25 FAFSA® Form?

All contributors (parent(s), stepparent, or student’s spouse) must use their FSA ID to access the FAFSA form, answer questions, provide consent, and sign the form electronically. Contributors are required to provide consent to have their 2022 tax information released from the IRS for their FAFSA.

Students or parents will initiate the FAFSA and invite other contributors to complete their portion of the form. To invite a contributor, you must enter:

• their name
• date of birth
• social security number
• email address

Collect this information now to simplify the process later. See the FSA video Understand and Prepare FAFSA® Form Contributors.

Consent to releasing tax information cannot be revoked and is mandatory for the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation to be completed and for the student to be eligible for federal aid. Learn more about What Does It Mean To Provide Consent and Approval on the 2024-25 FAFSA ® Form. 

Students or parents who are non-tax filers must still provide consent and enter income data manually.

After all contributors have provided consent and signed the form, it will be sent to the FAFSA Processing System (FPS).

Please note that you MUST include FIT’s school code on the FAFSA for the school to receive it.  FIT’s FAFSA school code is 002866.

All contributors to the FAFSA must be authenticated using a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID). Users who have not previously completed a FAFSA and still need to create an FSA ID should do so as soon as possible at studentaid.gov. To obtain an FSA ID, users will need a social security number (SSN) or undergo a knowledge-based match to validate their identity. 

Students will complete their section of the FAFSA first, then indicate which parent(s) should be invited via email to complete their parts of the FAFSA. One parent (if single parent) or if parents are married and filed joint 2022 tax returns.  Two parents (if parents married, filed separately in 2022).  For other parent situations not listed above, refer to the FAFSA for instructions. 

All students and parent(s) contributing to the FAFSA must provide consent on the 2024-25 FAFSA to have their 2022 tax information released from the IRS to the Department of Education. Contributors must use their FSA ID to access the FAFSA form, answer questions, provide consent, and sign the form electronically. The FAFSA will not be submitted for processing until ALL contributors provide consent and sign. Consent to releasing tax information cannot be revoked and is mandatory for the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation to be completed and for the student to be eligible for federal aid. Students or parents who are non-tax filers must still provide consent and enter income data manually.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is being replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI), which is the result of a processed FAFSA and is used for packaging financial aid. Many undergraduate students will see increased eligibility for the Pell Grant.

Things to note on the SAI for 2024-2025: EFC ranged from 0 to 99999, SAI can be as low as a negative 1500. 

Two New Calculations:: Separate calculations are now utilized for determining SAI and Pell Grant eligibility, with new data elements being used in each formula.

Multiple Family Members in College:  Having multiple family members in college is no longer factored into the calculation of the SAI.

Farm and Small Business Reporting Requirements:  Details such as the net worth of farms (excluding primary residences) and small businesses are now required to be reported.

Asset Information:  There are new rules to determine who is exempt from providing asset information. These rules are based on AGI, tax filing status, and whether they are a recipient of a means-tested federal benefit program in the prior two calendar years (2022 or 2023).

New Provisional Independent Status:  If a dependent student indicates they have unusual circumstances that prevent them from providing parent data, they will have their FAFSA processed with a provisional independent status. The student must provide documentation to financial aid administrators to determine if the student should be considered independent.

Professional Judgements: A new requirement states financial aid offices must publicly share that students have the option to pursue a professional judgment adjustment on a case-by-case basis. There are several occasions when an adjustment may be needed, such as when there are changes to a parent’s income or cost of attendance increases from a study-abroad experience. Please see our Special Circumstances information page.

If you are a New York State resident, please be sure to complete the New York State Tuition Assiistance Program -  TAP Application.

• Search for “FIT”  
• Associates degree code is 2070,
• Bachelor's degree code is 0975.

If you have applied for TAP in the past, please be aware that the TAP application will be available to file once New York State Higher Education Corporation (HESC) receives your FAFSA. The estimated time for the Department of Education (DOE) to send your application to New York State will be the end of March. Please wait until NYS HESC receives your FAFSA to file your TAP application.

The Excelsior  Scholarship  Program covers full tuition for eligible New York State Residents Please sign up on the HESC website to be notified when the Excelsior application becomes available.

A contributor is anyone required to provide consent and approval for obtaining federal tax information (FTI) needed to complete a student’s FAFSA. This includes the student, the student’s parent(s) and stepparent(s) if the student is considered a dependent, and the student’s spouse, if applicable. Students must designate contributors when completing their section of the FAFSA.

The parent who provides the most financial support should complete it. If one parent pays child support, that parent should complete the FAFSA if the child support amounts to more than half of the student’s support. If a dependent student’s parents are unmarried and living together, both parents will need to complete the FAFSA as contributors. 

Providing consent allows the Department of Education to use your name and Social Security number to match with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) so  that the IRS may share your federal tax information (FTI) with the Department of Education to determine a student’s eligibility for federal student aid.

Consent is mandatory for transferring federal tax information from the IRS and determining the student’s aid eligibility. If a student (or student’s spouse) does not provide consent, the student will be ineligible for any federal aid. If a parent contributor refuses consent, the student may still be allowed to receive a Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

No, recent changes prohibit independent students from including parental information on the FAFSA for federal student aid