KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Free Software for Federal Scholar Help for the 2026-27 tutorial yr will open on Oct. 1.
- Congressional adjustments to pupil loans will change the quantity of loans and grants provided to some households.
- Particularly, eligibility will likely be stricter for the biggest federal grant program, the Pell Grant.
Modifications are coming to the brand new Free Software for Federal Scholar Help.
This FAFSA, which opens on Oct. 1, will decide the quantity of federal grants and loans college students will obtain for the 2026-27 tutorial yr. The Division of Schooling has up to date the way in which some federal support is calculated and has added options to make the applying simpler to entry.
The “One Massive, Stunning Invoice,” handed by Congress earlier this yr, modified Pell Grant eligibility and the way a household’s Scholar Help Index is calculated. The SAI basically reveals the quantity a household is probably going to have the ability to contribute to their pupil’s schooling. The index is used to calculate how a lot college students will obtain in federal loans and grants, just like the Pell Grant. A better SAI usually interprets to decrease quantities of federal support.
Listed below are the adjustments you could learn about, and the way they may have an effect on you:
Households with small farms, companies, or a business fishery can exclude these belongings when calculating their SAI.
How this impacts you: For the previous two FAFSA cycles, households with a farm, enterprise, or fishery needed to embody these belongings when making use of for federal support. On the 2026-27 utility, the SAI for a lot of of those households will likely be decrease, and they’ll seemingly get extra in federal support.
College students with full-ride scholarships are not eligible for the Pell Grant.
How this impacts you: College students who obtain sufficient non-federal grants or scholarships to cowl their full value of attendance can not obtain a Pell Grant for the 2026-27 tutorial yr. Beforehand, some full-ride college students would use the grant cash for room and board or college provides.
Candidates who earn overseas earnings should report it as a part of their adjusted gross earnings when making use of for a Pell Grant.
How this impacts you: Beforehand, households solely needed to report earnings made in the US. For the 2026-27 tutorial yr, households which have overseas earnings will seemingly obtain much less in federal support.
Households with an SAI equal to or higher than twice the utmost Pell Grant quantity aren’t eligible for the federal grant program. Twice the utmost Pell Grant is $14,790 for the 2026-27 tutorial yr.
How this impacts you: This modification closes a loophole that some households took benefit of previously. They transferred their earnings into belongings, which lowered their earnings and allowed their college students to get a better Pell Grant.
