"FAFSA Application Update: Impact on College Aid Decisions and Processing Delays"

The U.S. Department of Education reports over 3.1 million FAFSA forms successfully submitted since the launch of the redesigned 2024–25 application, and announces an update to the Student Aid Index calculation to account for inflation, potentially providing an additional $1.8 billion in aid. The Better FAFSA aims to simplify the financial aid process, with 610,000 more low-income students expected to receive Federal Pell Grants and nearly 1.5 million more students receiving the maximum Pell Grant. The Department is committed to supporting a better FAFSA experience for all users and will begin transmitting FAFSA information to schools and state agencies in March.