The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), managed by the Department of Education, is the gateway to federal and state financial aid for millions of college students in America.
In this article, we outline what counselors need to know about the FAFSA for the 2026-2027 academic year to best support students throughout the process.
Feel free to jump right to the section that is most relevant to you:
Let's dig into some of the major changes for you to note this year.
The process of inviting a contributor to help students fill out the FAFSA is now simpler. Students do not need to provide their parent or guardian's Social Security number; they will just need to invite them via their email address.
Also, as a reminder, students who provide their Social Security number when creating their account will automatically be verified instead of having to wait days for their identity to be verified. This change was released in early 2025.
Please see below for information from the Federal Student Aid website on Pell Grant Eligibility (as of September 22, 2025):
The net worth of family-owned businesses with 100 or fewer full time employees, family commercial fishing businesses, and farms that a family lives on will be excluded from the SAI calculation for the 2026-2027 academic year.
As you may remember, the FAFSA had a huge makeover in the 2024-2025 academic year, due to the passing of the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020. This section is dedicated to those changes!
Below, we've outlined the 2024-2025 FAFSA changes if you're curious to learn more about them.
Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, the FAFSA now has a lot less questions for many families, due to a more streamlined data-sharing process between the IRS and the FAFSA.
The simpler FAFSA application allows more students and families to complete the form independently, without the help of a financial aid office or high school counselor.
The SAI, previously known as the EFC, is now the FAFSA’s way of calculating the amount of aid for which a student or family qualifies.
The main changes to the calculation are:
The bottom line: middle and upper-income families will likely receive less aid under the new FAFSA, and lower-income families will earn more.
If students are curious about what support they may receive through the FAFSA, have them check out the aid calculator from Federal Student Aid.
Starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, the concept of contributors was introduced. Contributors are those who submit information on the form. Here are the details on the contributors concept from Federal Student Aid website:
"'Contributor' is a new term on the 2024–25 FAFSA form. It refers to anyone (you, your spouse, your biological or adoptive parent, or your parent’s spouse) who’s asked to provide their information, consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred automatically from the IRS into the FAFSA form (more on that later), and signature on your FAFSA form."
Every FAFSA contributor needs an FSA ID, AKA their username and password to log into the Federal Student Aid website. Students and parents/guardians must fill out the new FAFSA separately in their separate log-ins.
Plus, divorced parents must follow a new rule. The parent who financially supported the student the most in the past 12 months is considered the contributor.
Also, the FAFSA is now available in 11 languages!
Here is a breakdown of the changes that are essential to communicate to your students and their families:
The main recent FAFSA update to keep in mind is the introduction of the Student Aid Index (SAI), and the projected aid changes for certain groups
Students and families can expect to receive less aid under the FAFSA if they:
If your students need more resources on financial aid options, these articles can help:
Inside the Financial Aid Process: A Guide for Students and Parents
FAFSA & CSS Profile – A Straightforward Guide to Understanding Financial Aid
Here is an email template counselors can use to encourage students and families to complete the FAFSA:
Hi There,
This is an exciting time for our seniors and juniors. For those who are looking to attend college, the college prep process has already begun.
One key college prep task to keep in mind is filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
You can learn more about recent FAFSA updates and what they may mean for you and your family in this article by Scoir about the FAFSA. The Federal Student Aid website is another great resource to explore.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can assist you and your family in any way through the FAFSA application process.
If it makes sense for you, try blocking your calendar now to set aside time to support students and families with the FAFSA.
You can also plan a meeting or record a virtual presentation explaining the FAFSA and it's recent updates to students and families in the fall.
Low on time? Read answers to these commonly asked FAFSA questions so you can quickly take the required next steps.
The 2026-2027 FAFSA was released on October 1, 2025.
Students and families have until June 30, 2027 to complete the FAFSA application. However, each state and school has different deadline requirements, so students will want to double-check deadline requirements with those parties.
It is a good best practice for students to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible to increase their chances of receiving aid.
Typically, the deadline for schools is in the spring, prior to the June 30 deadline FAFSA requires.
SAI stands for “Student Aid Index.” The SAI has replaced the EFC, or “Expected Family Contribution” calculation. The SAI determines how much aid a student or family needs.
Unlike the EFC, the SAI can be a negative number (as low as -1,500), signifying that a student is eligible for more aid.
This is good news for many lower-income students and families; the SAI will help those in need qualify for more aid.
To learn more about other financial aid options, our blog post on the college financial aid process can help.
The SAI calculation differs from EFC by introducing a minimum calculation, eliminating certain data points, and altering eligibility criteria for Federal Pell Grants, potentially resulting in reduced aid for middle and upper-income families and increased aid for lower-income families.
Contributors are individuals (such as students, parents, or guardians) who provide their information, consent, and approval for the transfer of federal tax information from the IRS into the FAFSA form. Each contributor must have an FSA ID and fill out the FAFSA separately.
Students with siblings in college and families owning small businesses or farms with less than 100 employees may receive less aid under the FAFSA since its changes in the 2024-2025 academic year.
This article was originally published on July 18, 2023. It was updated on April 17, 2026 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.