FAFSA fix will allow more aid to go to students

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that it has updated how it calculates the amount of federal aid students receive when they use the new and simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

With the update, 7.3 million students in total will be eligible for Pell Grants in 2024-25. So far, more than 4.7 million applications have been successfully submitted, according to the department. The update won’t affect the timeline for delivering completed applications to colleges and universities in the first half of March.

The department also announced last week that students who have at least one parent without a Social Security Number will be able to successfully submit FAFSA forms in the first half of March.

Since unveiling the simplified FAFSA form Dec. 30, delays and technical problems have hindered students from completing the application and forced colleges to wait for information and adjust their timelines.