Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Changes

• Allows the U.S. Department of Education to automatically obtain federal tax information from the IRS for students, parents, and other contributors (such as a spouse or stepparent).
• Reduces the number of questions students will have to answer on the form.
• Expands the Federal Pell Grant to more students and will link eligibility to family size and the federal poverty level (starting with the 2024-25 award year). (Undergraduates only)
• Updates language associated with Cost of Attendance (COA).
• Provides additional flexibility for assisting students with unusual circumstances. (Undergraduates only)

To read more about the FAFSA Simplification Act and the changes this brings, please visit the Federal Student Aid website.

The New FAFSA Form

The Department of Education has made the form shorter, from answering more than 100 questions to a few dozen, and easier to file for students applying for federal aid starting this year.

The Baylor College of Medicine Institutional Financial Aid Application

In prior years, students have completed our institutional application for financial aid.  In keeping with efforts to simplify, Baylor College of Medicine is also simplifying our application procedures. As such, we will no longer collect an additional BCM Institutional application to determine your eligibility.  We will determine your eligibility solely from the FAFSA and, if selected, any necessary verification documents.

Students will be awarded aid using the following standardized process. This means that when we determine a student's need for aid, awarding will occur in the following order (pending eligibility and availability of funds):

• BCM Institutional loan (SOM students only)
• Federal Direct Loan—Unsubsidized in the maximum amount of eligibility.
• Federal Work-Study (FWS) – Please note, for 2024-2025 aid year, there will be a different process that will require that the student initiate interest in being awarded FWS. More details on this process will be provided soon. Please continue to check this page.
• Federal Grad PLUS Loan - Please note, for the 2024-2025 aid year, there will be a different process which will require students to initiate the application and credit check. Information will be shared soon with instructions on how to complete this process. Please continue to check this page.

New Timeline for the 2024-25 Aid Year

A new delay has been announced by the United States Department of Education.  Originally, FAFSA data was expected to be received by Jan. 30, 2024.  However, yesterday, the US Dept of Education announced that a glitch in the aid eligibility formula will delay new applications until the first half of March.  No specific date has been announced yet. The Financial Aid Office will post updates and new information here as it becomes available.

Unlike previous years, the 2024-25 FAFSA form will be available in December 2023 to reflect these major changes. Next year, the form resumes opening on Oct. 1, 2024.

Baylor College of Medicine will still award aid (see above options) on a first come, first served basis so it will be important to submit your FAFSA as soon as you have completed it.

We will continue to update students as we receive additional information from Federal Financial Aid and encourage students to file your FAFSA as soon as possible after it opens.

Below is information regarding changes to help students prepare ahead of December.  

The form has a new term called contributors. It refers to anyone who can provide information for the applicant's FAFSA form, which can be any of the following:

• The student
• The student's spouse (if applicable)
• A biological or adopted parent
• The spouse of the remarried parent who is on the FAFSA (the stepparent)

The form will require both students and contributors to have an FSA ID.

• If the student or their contributor have filed FAFSA before, the student and their contributor(s) already have an FSA ID.
• If not, the student and/or their contributor(s) will need to create a StudentAid.gov account by following these steps. The process of acquiring an FSA ID can take up to three days

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be replaced with the Student Aid Index (SAI) to determine how much money a student is eligible for. This new formula has three changes:

1. It will no longer take into consideration how many students a family has enrolled in higher education.
2. It allows for a negative contribution of up to 1,500.
3. Eligibility for Federal Pell Grants will be calculated separately.

The Future Act requires that every contributor on the FAFSA provide consent to share their tax information in the application so that the IRS can share this information with Federal Student Aid (FSA). All parties whose Federal Tax Information (FTI) is included on a student's FAFSA form must consent annually.