The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, is the key to determining whether you are eligible for federal, state, and institutional financial aid such as grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans. You will need to complete a new FAFSA each year.

Complete Your FAFSA

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FAFSA Priority Date

Students seeking financial aid from Ball State should complete the FAFSA before April 15 each year in order to be considered for the maximum financial aid available. Students completing the FAFSA for the 2024-25 academic year should do so before April 15, 2024.  Even if you think you may not qualify for grants, the information you provide on the FAFSA often helps determine your eligibility for other aid.

FAFSA Submission Date for 2024-25

You may still submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2023-24 academic year. However, the 2024-25 FAFSA will not be available until December 2023. This delay is only temporary for the 2024-25 aid year. The FAFSA will be available as usual on October 1, 2024 for the 2025-26 aid year.

We will continue to update this page as additional information becomes available for 2024-25. You can learn more about the specific changes, timeline, and how to prepare below:

FAFSA Simplification

Due to the passing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act on December 27, 2020, as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, the FAFSA is changing for the 2024-25 aid year and beyond.

You can expect the following changes:

  • FAFSA Completion Date
    - The 2024-25 FAFSA will not be available until December 2023.
  • Streamlined application process
    - The FAFSA will feature fewer questions, fewer requirements, and retrieve tax information using a direct data exchange from the IRS instead of the previous IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
  • New terminology and information
    - The need analysis formula to determine financial aid is changing. The result, formally known as the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), will now be referred to as the Student Aid Index (SAI).
    - The FAFSA is introducing the new term contributor, which refers to anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FAFSA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent’s spouse.
    - Students will need the contributor’s name, date of birth, Social Security Number (SSN), and email address to invite them to complete the required portion of the FAFSA.
    - Contributors will need to provide personal and financial information on their section of the FAFSA.
    - If your parents are divorced or separated, the contributing parent(s) is the parent (and their spouse, if remarried) who provided the greater portion of your financial support during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA. It is not automatically the parent you primarily lived with during the past 12 months.
    - All Contributors–student, student's spouse (if married), and student's parents(s) (if a dependent student)–must provide consent to have tax data transferred directly from the IRS to the FAFSA. If consent is not provided by all parties, the student will not be eligible for federal financial aid. In previous years, transferring IRS data was optional. It is now required.
    - Small businesses and family farms are now considered assets.
    - The number of family members in college will still be asked on the FAFSA, but it will be excluded from the federal, state, and institutional financial aid calculation.
    - The Student Aid Report (SAR) will now be referred to as the FAFSA Submission Summary. This is the summary submission document you receive after completing the FAFSA.
  • Expanding Pell Grant eligibility
    - The adjustments to the new Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation will expand Federal Pell Grant eligibility to more students.

Preparing for the FAFSA

While the 2024-25 FAFSA won’t be available until December, you can still prepare by doing the following:

  • Create an FSA ID on the Federal Student Aid website and assist contributors, such as your parent(s) or spouse, in creating an FSA ID.
    - An FSA ID is an account and password that gives you access to the Federal Student Aid’s online system and serves as your electronic signature.
    - With the FSA ID, you can fill out the FAFSA when it’s available, sign your Master Promissory Note (MPN), apply for repayment plans, complete loan counseling, and use the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Help Tool.
  • Complete the FAFSA as soon as it opens in December.