Gather Your Information for the 2024-2025 FAFSA

You will need to gather some information before you begin filling out the FAFSA. For the 2024–2025 school year, you will need your 2022 income information.

If you are a DEPENDENT STUDENT, you will need:

1. Your and your parents’ FSA IDs. To create one, go to StudentAid.gov and click on “Create Account.”
2. Your and your parents’ social security numbers (SSN)
3. Your and your parents’ 2022 W-2 forms and other records of money earned
4. Your and your parents’ 2022 federal income tax returns (including all applicable schedules)
5. Your and your parents’ current bank statements

If you are NOT A DEPENDENT STUDENT, you will need:

1. Your FSA ID. To create one, go to StudentAid.gov and click on “Create Account.” If you are married but you and your spouse file separate tax returns, your spouse will also need an FSA ID.
2. Your social security number (SSN)
3. Your (and if married, your spouse’s) 2022 federal income tax return (including all applicable schedules), 2022 W-2 forms, and other records of money earned
4. Your current bank statements

If applicable, you will also need:

• Your current business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, and stock, bond, and other investment records
• Your Permanent Resident Card (Form I-151 or I-551C) or Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) with an eligible status (if you are an eligible non-U.S. citizen)

Complete the FAFSA

• Submit the FAFSA as soon as possible once it becomes available in December.
• The 2024–2025 FAFSA requires 2022 income information.
• The FAFSA is a roles-based form; students will see only their section and parents (referred to as “contributors”) will see only their section. Each contributor will use their FSA ID to access their respective section.
• If a dependent student begins the process, they will be prompted to provide contributor information in their section. If the parent “contributor” starts their section first, they will be required to provide student information in their section.
• You will be prompted to consent to having tax information from the IRS sent to Federal Student Aid using the Financial Aid Direct Data Exchange, even if you are not required to file taxes. You must consent by checking the box. If you do not check the box, you will not be eligible for any federal student aid.
• The schools you list on your FAFSA will receive your FAFSA information electronically. You can list up to 20 colleges on the FAFSA.

*Keep the current Complete the FAFSA box and place it last under this step.

ect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

After you File the 2024-2025 FAFSA

Your FAFSA will be processed by the Federal Processing Center typically within 2-3 business days.

Review Your FAFSA Submission Summary.

• Your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) is a summary of the information you provided on your FAFSA. If you provided an email address on your FAFSA, you will be sent an email with a link to your FSS once your FAFSA has been processed. Your FSS can also be found by logging in at FAFSA.gov with your FSA ID.
• Review your FSS carefully. If there is an asterisk next to your SAI, that means you have been selected for verification.
• If corrections are needed, log in to FAFSA.gov using your FSA ID (username and password), make the corrections, and resubmit your FAFSA. Make sure you and a parent (if required), sign the FAFSA again using your FSA IDs.
• If information has changed or the FAFSA data no longer reflects your current situation, contact Bethany Financial Aid Office.

You May Be Selected for Federal Verification.
Verification is a random selection process that requires schools to collect additional income and household information from some students. If you were selected for federal verification, you will receive an email from ProEd requesting to create an account. Log on to your ProEd account at https://bethany.proed.org/. If you cannot log on to the site for some reason, use the ‘forgot your password’ link. The ProVerify helpline is 304.907.0150.

You May Be Selected to Submit Additional Information to Resolve FAFSA conflicts.
The Bethany Financial Aid Office will reach out to you via mail and email with a Missing Information Letter Notice detailing the information and steps needed. Make sure to resolve so your financial aid can be disbursed to your bill.

FAFSA Simplification: What it Means for You

The FAFSA Simplification & FUTURE Act was passed by Congress in December 2020. The intent of the legislation was to make the financial aid process and eligibility for Federal Pell grants more predictable for low- income students, reduce the number of FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Form questions, streamline the calculation of financial need, expand federal aid eligibility for specific populations and, ultimately improve educational outcomes for low-income students. While some provisions of the legislation went into effect for the 2023-2024 academic year, most will be implemented for the 2024-2025 academic year (Summer 2024/Fall 2024/Spring 2025).

What Does FAFSA Simplification Mean for You?

1. The FAFSA for the upcoming academic year typically becomes available at fafsa.gov on October 1. For the 2024-2025 academic year only, the FAFSA will not become available to file online until December 2023. Exact date in December TBD.
2. Beginning with the 2024-25 year, the FAFSA will be less complex. The number of questions will be reduced from 108 to approximately 36 and prior-prior year federal tax information will be automatically transferred from the IRS’ database. All parties whose information will be on the FAFSA (example: parent, step-parent) must provide consent to have their federal tax information transferred.
3. Males between 18-25 years of age will no longer be required to be registered with Selective Service to receive federal financial aid.
4. Historically, the FAFSA calculated a student’s EFC (Expected Family Contribution), an indicator of the student’s financial need that was used to determine eligibility for need-based federal, state and College aid. Most notably, a student’s EFC had to be below a specific threshold to qualify for the Federal Pell Grant, SEOG and the WV Higher Education Grant. The EFC is being replaced with the SAI (Student Aid Index). Federal Pell Grant eligibility will now be determined by family size and family income as it relates to the federal poverty level. You can calculate your SAI and determine Federal Pell Grant eligibility using the U.S. Department of Education’s SAI calculator.
5. The EFC (Expected Family Contribution) was calculated based on five primary factors: household size, number in college, prior-prior year taxable and untaxable income and assets, for both the student and, for dependent students, his/her parent(s). The SAI will no longer take into account most sources of untaxed income. The SAI will also not take into account the number in college. This could impact a student’s eligibility for need-based financial aid (i.e.-Pell Grant, SEOG, WV Higher Education Grant, Federal Work Study, the subsidy on the Federal Direct Student Loan). Bethany College merit scholarships and need-based Grant amounts are set at point of entry and will not be recalculated/reduced in future years unless there is significant chance in need. If there is no significant change in need, students retain their eligibility for up to eight semesters provided they remain a full-time undergraduate, in good academic standing.
6. In the past, for divorced or separated parent families, the custodial parent (typically the parent the student lived with) provided his/her information on the FAFSA. Beginning with the 2024-25 FAFSA, the parent who provided the greatest financial support (regardless of living arrangements) will be required to list his/her information on the FAFSA. If financial support is split 50/50 between both parents, the parent who has the higher income is required to provide his/her financial information on the FAFSA.