Virginia Tech® home

FAFSA Simplification

FAFSADelay

The 2024-2025 FAFSA is now available!

While you can complete the FAFSA now, Virginia Tech will not receive FAFSA information until late early or mid March. The delay is due to changes to the FAFSA and financial aid application process resulting from the FAFSA Simplification Act passed by Congress.

The FAFSA is available on the studentaid.gov website.

When will I get my scholarship and financial aid notification?

We expect to begin sending scholarship and financial aid notifications to admitted students in mid-April. Continuing Virginia Tech students will receive their notification in early June as in prior years.

Learn more about undergraduate financial aid
clock

What is the FAFSA Simplification Act?

The FAFSA Simplification Act was passed by Congress in 2021 to provide a more streamlined process for accessing federal financial aid. The federal financial aid formula, terminology, the background technical systems, and the FAFSA itself will all be overhauled to provide a better experience for students and families.

What can you do now?

You and your parent(s) must set up your FSA ID at studentaid.gov. An account must be set up for each person to complete the FAFSA. Check out our USFA Explains video on Who’s a Contributor on the FAFSA!

Complete Virginia Tech’s General Scholarship Application online at Scholarship Central. 

Watch your email and VT portal closely to act quickly if any documentation is requested from you. 

Check out these tips to successfully complete your 2024-2025 FAFSA. 

USFA Explains

New FAFSA Release Date

Loading player for /content/dam/finaid_vt_edu/student-loan-repayment-resumption/FAFSA Update 3 - Austin.mov...

Student Aid Index (SAI)

Loading player for /content/dam/finaid_vt_edu/student-loan-repayment-resumption/FAFSA Update 2 - Cassidy.mov...

Who's a Contributor on the FAFSA

Loading player for /content/dam/finaid_vt_edu/student-loan-repayment-resumption/FAFSA Update 1 - Cary.mov...

Big changes include...

  • Most students will not even have to answer all of the questions due to the dynamic online FAFSA form. 
  • Students can now list up to 20 schools on the FAFSA. This increase is double the previous maximum of 10 schools. 
  • The FAFSA will be available in 11 languages. The FAFSA was previously available in only English and Spanish. 
  • The SAI will be used to determine eligibility for financial aid. 
  • The SAI can be as low as -1500 so don't be worried if you see a negative SAI when you complete next year's FAFSA.
  • Changes to the federal financial aid formula will result in more students qualifying for the Pell Grant than under the previous process. 
  • The Direct Data Exchange will allow more people to transfer data from the IRS than the IRS Data Retrieval Tool currently in use. 
  • In rare cases where the Direct Data Exchange cannot be used, you can still add the tax return information manually. 
  • Students will invite Contributors to complete the FAFSA. 
  • All Contributors must provide consent and sign the form for the application to be complete. 
  • Each Contributor must have their own FSA ID.
  • Information on how to create an account and username (FSA ID) at studentaid.gov can be found below. 
Watch this video for step-by-step assistance in setting up the FSA ID
  • Previously, in the case of separated/divorced parents, it was the parent the student lived with that would complete the FAFSA. Now it is the parent who provided the most financial support in the past 12 months who is required to complete the FAFSA. 
  • Only the net worth is to be reported on the FAFSA, not the total value. 
Loading player for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOgIb7StyPU...