Change is inevitable, but that doesn’t make it any less nerve-racking or confusing.
That’s why Susan Henschel said with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid receiving an overhaul and schools changing their guidelines regarding SAT and ACT scores, it’s important for students to be aware.
“It’s about fulfilling the dream,” added Henschel, a senior consultant for The College Review, a collegiate planning service based in Pepper Pike. “When we think about sending our students to college, we think about the investment that we make, and we want to secure that by ensuring that the student is at college readiness. We want to maximize our return on investment. Being prepared is the way to go forward.”
FAFSA is a form students are required to fill out before the start of each school year to determine if they are eligible for student aid to assist with funding their schooling and how much they will be getting.
The changes go into effect for the 2026-27 school year, and a big difference is that the expected family contribution, which tells a student and their family about how much they will be paying for college, is being replaced by the student aid index, a new formula that determines federal student aid eligibility in an easier manner that requires less information.
“They’re changing how they’re calculating the numbers,” Henschel said. “And on top of that, they’ve changed the form to make it shorter, there’s less questions.”
The SAI and a few other tweaks to FAFSA is intended to broaden the eligibility for more Pell Grants, the largest grant given by the U.S. government that is based on income of the student or parent, with automated qualifications possible based on how large your family is and how high its income is.
Another change involves the IRS data exchange with applicants now having to consent to the direct transfer of federal tax information from the IRS via the IRS Direct Data Exchange, a move intended to simplify the process and reduce errors, according to Henschel.
A pair of alterations that may result in less financial aid being rewarded is that, for students of divorced parents listed as dependents on tax forms, FAFSA will start to use the income and assets of the parent providing the most financial support, regardless of who the student actually lives with.
The number of family members attending college at the same time will also no longer factor into how much aid a student gets. “You’ve got changes that include an increase to income protection allowance, which is reporting annual child support, and (affects those) receiving an asset instead of income,” Henschel said. “That now requires the value of small businesses and the family farms to be reported as assets. They may see an adjustment in their aid eligibility.”
The final deadline to submit the FAFSA form for the 2026-27 school year is June 30, 2026, but Henschel warned that schools could require the form to be filed be earlier than that.
Parent PLUS loans, given to the parents of dependent undergraduate students, will also now have a borrowing limit. The annual cap is $20K per child and the lifetime cap will be $65K. The current plan allows parents to borrow up to the total cost of attendance minus other aides with no fixed limits.
Another change college-bound students are starting to see is more and more universities returning to the mandatory requirement to submit SAT or ACT scores. The Ohio State University will begin requiring those scores in the fall of 2026 while Harvard and the University of Texas already made them required this school year.
“Taking these exams gives us an opportunity to find out more about the student prior to going to college,” Henschel said. “It gives us a chance to understand the academic needs of the students prior to going to college. Do they have to go back and relearn a certain kind of math or writing skill? It’s an opportunity for the student to polish up.”
With college being some of the most crucial years of a person’s life, Henschel added that ensuring everything is fully in place and ready is key.
“When you think about sending your child to college, for most families it’s probably the second biggest investment besides their home,” she said. “And you want to secure the investment and make sure the student is ready.”