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We believe every student in North Carolina should be able to chart a path to college. Determining financial aid is the first step to make that possible, and it’s our mission to make that process as simple as possible. With major changes through the Better FAFSA coming in the 2024-2025 application year, our goal is to promote access to higher education is to equip North Carolina’s school counselors and college access professionals with the information they need to serve students and families.

SAI Look Up Tables

These tables will show you how the new formula will be implemented in specific cases, based on individual circumstances such as number of children, income level and assets.

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CFNC Reps

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Local Financial Aid Offices

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CFNC Spanish Services

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New Student Aid Index

The Student Aid Index will influence aid determinations. This is what we know about how the formula is changing:

 

New Name

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is the new name for the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and better reflects what this formula shows. The SAI is a calculation of how much need-based financial aid a student is eligible for, not what the family can or will pay.

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What it Does

The SAI determines a student’s eligibility for federal student aid with the exception of the maximum and minimum Pell awards, which are determined by the Federal Poverty Tables.

SAI Amount can be Lower

The SAI amount could be as low as -1,500, which will allow financial aid offices to prioritize students with the
most needs.

Formula changes for families with multiple college students

The SAI will no longer be divided by the number of students a family is supporting in college. Colleges are encouraged to estimate the impact on their students and make changes in their aid to account for this.

We recognize some families are concerned about this change. Here are some key points of information that may inform your discussions:  are concerned about this change. Here are some key points of information that may inform your discussions:

  • In North Carolina, the new Next NC grant will help families with a household income of less than $75,000. This scholarship will help offset SAI changes for those students.  Veterans education benefits
  • According to the federal Education Department, the very neediest families will not be impacted at all by this change.  They estimate based on 2021-2022 FAFSA data that 81% of Pell Grant recipients will qualify for the maximum Pell Grant award under the new formula, up from 63% currently.

Reporting assets

There will no longer be exemptions for reporting assets based on the number of employees at a business, or farms on which the family residence is located. Families required to report assets (those with an adjusted gross income of $60,000 or higher) will need to report all assets and do their best at estimating value. If debt is owed on an asset, they will subtract the debt owed.

About CFNC

The College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) promotes access to North Carolina higher education and assists students with education planning, career planning, and applying and paying for college. CFNC is a free service of the State of North Carolina provided by the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority in collaboration with the NC Community College System, The University of North Carolina System, the NC Department of Public Instruction, the NC Independent Colleges and Universities and College Foundation, Inc.

NCSEAA

The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), established in 1965, is the State agency that promotes access to higher education by administering financial aid and savings programs, informing students and families about paying for college, teaching educators about financial aid administration, and advocating for resources to support students.

Tips from the Field

This is the first major redesign of the FAFSA process in 40 years. With such a major change, we’ll be sharing tips as we hear about them to help your students through this process. Here’s what we’ve heard so far:

#1

Have families complete the “What you need for an FSA ID” worksheet prior to starting their FSA ID electronically. It is very important to record the details they use when creating the ID, in case they need to be updated later.

#2

Select all authentication methods so they have another method to try if one fails.

#3

Encourage students to take a photo of their backup code for the FSA ID authentication process. See more about that here.

#4

Even though IRS information will be automatically transferred, we still recommend parents keep their tax returns at hand as they complete the FAFSA. This will remind them what they had reported in their taxes. When information is imported over from the IRS, students and families will not be able to see it. Having their tax return can help them if they need to change information (ex: family size/number of dependents if there has been a new family addition since filing).

#5

As the student completes their portion of the FAFSA, we recommend the parent/contributor be present, so they are able to help fill out information (including the contributor social security number) when the student is asked to designate a contributor.

#6

Spread the word early: students may list 20 colleges, up from 10. Start mentioning this now so students are prepared with college information.

#7

Since the FAFSA will be available later this year (Dec. 2023), help students prioritize activities that can be completed ahead of time. For instance: college list compiled, complete admissions applications, scholarship applications, FSA ID set up, RDS and campus visits.

Latest FAFSA Updates

19 Jul 2023

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19 Jul 2023

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19 Jul 2023

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum.
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19 Jul 2023

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19 Jul 2023

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