Find the most up-to-date information below regarding 2024-2025 FAFSA, financial aid status and processing updates:

• The Federal FAFSA Processing System just began processing 2024-2025 FAFSA results as of 3/11/24.  However, they have estimated that they processed approximately 30%-60% incorrectly.  The Department of Education will be correcting student results and sending correct results out to schools after May 1.  They will notify students when their FAFSA has been reprocessed via email.  Please keep in mind, even though the Federal FAFSA Processing System has began pushing out FAFSA results, we will not be able to receive the results nor view any student's results until late April and will not be receiving correct results from them until early-mid May.
• Colleges and University's must wait for the latest of the computer software updates from the Department of Education before we can begin receiving and loading correct FAFSA results.  We are hopeful this will occur early May and we will communicate with students once we have received their results to notify them that their file is being processed.  
• Students should not expect to receive a Financial Aid package until mid-June.
• The Department of Education has now opened their system up for students/contributors to make corrections to their FAFSA!
• New York State residents: Once you have received notification from the FAFSA Processing System that your FAFSA has been processed, you may complete and submit your New York State TAP application at NYS Higher Education Services Corporation.  You will also receive an email from them notifying you of this.

Empire State University is here to help you through! The summer 2024 term payment deadline has been extended to August 15, 2024.

Register today for one of SUNY's FAFSA Completion events to get your FAFSA submitted for 2024-2025 if you have not already!

View the recording of the FAFSA Update and Financial Aid Presentation.

Please keep in mind this is not just affecting Empire State University students; this is nationwide for all students/families and all institutions.  We are all in this together and we will do all we can as quick as possible once the U.S. Department of Education begins processing and sending results for the 2024-2025 year.  We ask for patience during this delay.  If you have questions and would like to stop-in to a question/answer period hosted by the Financial Aid Office to ask your question, please link to one of the sessions below.  

Tuesday April 2, 9, 16, 23 from 12-1:30 p.m.

Wednesdays: April 3, 10, 17, 24 from 6-7 p.m.

What is causing the delay for 2024-2025?

Big changes are happening with the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)! The changes are part of the FAFSA simplification process to make federal aid more accessible for students and families. Here are some of the major changes:

• Rather than opening in October, the 2024-2025 FAFSA wasn't made available until December 2023. After the 2024-2025 aid year, the FAFSA will once again be available in October.
• There are fewer questions and requirements on the new 2024-2025 FAFSA, coined the Better FAFSA.  The FAFSA experience is interactive and offers a virtual assistant to answer any questions the applicants have while applying.  Video resources are also available to assist students and their families in applying.
• Students must provide consent and approval to retrieve and disclose federal tax information.  Failure to give consent and approval results in automatic denial and rejection of the student's FAFSA application and denial of any federal aid possibility.

• "Contributors" consist of parent/guardians/other parents and/or spouses.  Each contributor is required to create their own FSA ID.  Legally married students and students deemed dependent are required to supply their contributors information on the FAFSA (legal name, social security number, date of birth and email). Each contributor is then contacted to give permission for their tax data and information to be retrieved and reported.  Failure to give permission results in automatic denial and rejection of the student's FAFSA application and denial of any federal financial aid possibility.

• If parents are divorced or separated, the contributing parent(s) is the parent (and their spouse, if remarried) who have provided the greater portion of financial support to the student during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA. It is not automatically the parent the student primarily lived with during the past 12 months. If both of your parents provided equal financial support to you during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA, the contributing parent is whichever parent (and their spouse, if remarried) has the greater income and assets.
• The need analysis formula to determine financial aid, formerly known as the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), will now be referred to as the Student Aid Index (SAI). Unlike the EFC, the SAI may be a negative number.

• The number of family members in college will still be asked on the FAFSA; however, it will be excluded from the federal and state financial aid calculation.
• The Student Aid Report (SAR) will now be referred to as the FAFSA Submission Summary. This is the summary submission document received after completing the FAFSA.

• Students may list up to 20 schools on their FAFSA via the online application.
• The adjustments to the new Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation will expand Federal Pell Grant eligibility to more undergraduate students and will link eligibility to family size and the federal poverty level.