FAFSA Simplification Act

The Financial Aid Application is Changing

The FAFSA Simplification Act has introduced a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid starting with the 2024–25 award year. This includes changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form and many policies that will alter how students apply for aid and the method for determining aid for students.

Highlights for 2024-2025 Financial Aid

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is expected to be available in late December.
The aid application will have fewer questions, hopefully making it easier for students to complete the application.
The application will have new terms. Instead of “parent” or “spouse,” the form uses “contributor” to identify someone who is asked to provide information on the FAFSA® like a parent or spouse did previously and “consent.” Each contributor will be required to consent to their information being included on the FAFSA®.
The “Expected Family Contribution” in calculating how much aid students may get is changing to a “Student Aid Index.” This number measures the student and/or family’s ability to pay for college. The new formula implements a separate eligibility criterion for determining Federal Pell Grants.
Eligibility for Federal Pell Grants is expanding. The new criteria will include family size and the federal poverty level for income. Incarcerated students in federal and state correctional facilities may be eligible. Lifetime eligibility will be restored for students whose school closed when they were enrolled or if the school is found to have misled the student.

Be Prepared

The 2024-2025 FAFSA form is now open. Apply Now
Use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to see what you may now be eligible for.

Want More Information?

Watch what the federal government has to say about FAFSA Simplification in their YouTube video.

See the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) for updates on 24/25 FAFSA Simplification.

Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA)

How Is the WASFA Being Impacted?

The 2023-2024 and 2024-25 WASFA forms are now open. Apply Now
This page will be updated with WASFA changes and how state aid is impacted.
Follow Washington Student Achievement Council’s WASFA website as well for additional resources

Resources

2024 - 2025 FAFSA Q&A for Students

There have been significant challenges with the nationwide rollout of the new 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that is affecting every college and university in the nation, including Lower Columbia College. The U.S. Department of Education has informed colleges and universities that they will not begin receiving financial aid application data until mid-March – four months later than usual.

This significant delay, coupled with the need to rewrite software for processing your FAFSA data, will prevent our Financial Aid Office from notifying students of their financial aid information for the 2024-25 academic year until mid-May at the earliest.

Please note this information does NOT apply to your 2023-2024 FAFSA, which covers Summer 23, Fall 23, Winter 24, and Spring 24 quarters. Your Spring 24 financial aid will release as normal.

We recognize that college costs play a huge role in your ability to choose a college and finish your studies. LCC’s Financial Aid Office will do everything possible to package your aid as soon as possible. Please continue to check this website often for helpful information and any available updates.

What can I do now?

Know that exciting changes are coming! There is more financial aid available than ever before in the form of expanded eligibility for grants. So, while you may need to wait for the Department of Education to process your application and send it over to us for review, please know we are working hard to get your aid processed as quickly as possible.

Apply for 2024-25 financial aid application online using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Although the FAFSA opened three months later than normal, it is now available for all eligible students to apply. The sooner you submit your 2024-25 FAFSA, the sooner we’ll get it after the U.S. Department of Education starts sending applications to colleges. This is especially important for students who plan to enroll for Summer 24 quarter.

When completing your application, please be as accurate as possible. The U.S. Department of Education informed us that you won’t be able to update a submitted FAFSA or fix any errors until mid-March at the earliest.

If you’re ineligible to use the FAFSA (for reasons such as citizenship or immigration status), please submit a Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA) application
Beware of phishing attempts to capture your financial aid login information, for both you and your “contributors” if applicable. Contributors are family members that are required to provide information on some student’s FAFSA application such as a parent or spouse. You should never provide your login information to anyone else or send it in an email.

What is the good news?

The new 2024-25 FAFSA is the most significant revamping of the Federal Student Aid application since the 1980s. Benefits include:

Shorter application - The FAFSA application is now shorter and easier to complete for many people.
More federal aid - More people are eligible to receive federal Pell Grants, and the average grant award is expected to be larger.
Generous state aid - In Washington state, the Washington College Grant gives eligible people more money for more types of education like certificate programs, job training, apprenticeships, or college. Once you complete the FAFSA, your application will also be used to help Washington state determine your eligibility for programs such the Washington College Grant and other state aid programs you may be eligible to receive.

What are the challenges?

Since colleges won’t receive FAFSA data from the U.S. Department of Education until mid-March, this will cause significant delays at the state level as college and university financial aid offices work overtime to process applications in a much shorter timeframe.

All colleges and universities across the nation will need to reconfigure software for the new FAFSA data. Here in Washington, community and technical colleges use ctcLink PeopleSoft software for financial aid processing. The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) manages this software for all 34 colleges.

Before SBCTC can update and test the software, Oracle, the parent company of PeopleSoft, must revise the code based on changes from the U.S. Department of Education. Then, SBCTC needs to test and ensure the technical adjustments are correct and the FAFSA data is processing accurately. The data file for each student is called an Institutional Student Information Record or ISIR.

The sample ISIR records received from the U.S. Department of Education so far have been flawed or insufficient. As a result, SBCTC has informed LCC’s Financial Aid Office it will not be able to complete its work with confidence until May. Until SBCTC updates and tests the software, no community or technical colleges in Washington State will be able to process ISIRs, which prevents LCC from providing students with financial aid award information until the update is completed.

All higher education institutions in the nation are facing this same predicament, regardless of which software system they use to deliver and process financial aid.

What is happening with the WASFA?

The Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA) is for people who are undocumented or who do not qualify for federal financial aid but may qualify for state financial aid (such as the Washington College Grant). It can also be used by others in certain limited situations. The 2024-25 WASFA is open now and, like the FAFSA, it will have fewer questions and a simpler form. However, the FAFSA delays are also causing WASFA delays.

What if I have questions?

We understand the stress financial aid delays are causing and are exploring all options to help financial aid applicants through these difficult times. We will continue to provide updates on this webpage as we learn more. We are here to help you at the One Stop Center if you have any questions.

Contact Financial Aid

Financial Aid staff are available online in Zoom, via phone or email.

Financial Aid Office

(360) 442-2390
Fax: (360) 442-2379
financialaidoffice@lowercolumbia.edu

Meet us online in Zoom!

Hours

Mon - Fri 8 am - 5 pm*

*Closed Fridays during summer session (July/Aug).

Computer access is available in the Admissions Center.

FAFSA/ WASFA

Important! Make sure to select Lower Columbia College as a school that you want to receive a copy of your FAFSA or WASFA.

School Code: 003782