SJSU FAFSA 2024 Update

Sent: April 22, 2024

From: Vincent J. Del Casino, Jr., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Coleetta McElroy, Director, Financial Aid and Scholarship Office

Dear Campus Community,

Many of you may be aware of the changes to the financial aid application process beginning in fall 2024. While our Financial Aid and Scholarship Office continues to communicate with our current students and admitted Fall 2024 first-year, transfer and graduate students regarding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), we wanted to provide some context on the issues and where you can direct students, parents or other individuals who ask for assistance.

In 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was signed into law, which included the FAFSA Simplification Act. The FAFSA Simplification Act is a massive overhaul of federal student aid beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, and changes to FAFSA impact the information requested from students and their families, as well as the potential eligibility of grant and loan aid for applicants. The California Dream Act Application (CADAA) will also implement these same changes.

The application for the 2024-25 academic year became available on December 31, 2023. However, due to technical issues with the Department of Education, FAFSA applicants whose parents do not have a social security number may still have an issue completing the FAFSA at this time. As a result of the issues in the implementation of the new application, the California 2024-25 priority filing deadline has been extended to May 2, 2024. 

At SJSU, we are committed to implementing these changes with as little disruption as possible to minimize any challenges to our students in their academic endeavors. If you receive questions about FAFSA or CADAA, please refer them to our 2024-2025 FAFSA and California Dream Act Changes resource page, which will be regularly updated as additional information is released by the Department of Education. They can also reach out to the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office at fao@sjsu.edu.

We want to reassure you that we are here to help and support our students in these times of change. 

Sincerely,

Vincent Del Casino, Jr., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Coleetta McElroy, Director, Financial Aid and Scholarship Office