The Department of Education has announced there will be delays in transferring your completed FAFSA application to colleges/universities. After you complete and submit your FAFSA, you should receive an email acknowledgement from Federal Student Aid (this message will be sent to the email address you use for your FAFSA). However, the Office of Financial Aid will not be able to receive your application, see any of your submitted FAFSA information, or advise on aid eligibility until mid-May. 

In response to these delays, SUNY Maritime is extending the deposit deadline for Fall 2024 to June 1st, 2024.

Financial Aid Award Notification Timeline

  • 2024-2025 FAFSAs will become available to all Financial Aid Offices in mid-March to early April.
  • Prospective Student Financial Aid Award Notifications – to be released in mid-May.
  • Continuing Student Financial Aid Award Notifications – to be released in mid-May.

FAFSA Simplification

In 2020, the FAFSA Simplification Act was enacted into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The FAFSA Simplification Act represents a significant overhaul of federal student aid, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, need analysis, and many policies and procedures for schools that participate in the Title IV programs.

FAFSA Application Dates Change

The FAFSA has been in the past available for the following school year starting in October.  However, the 2024-25 FAFSA became available on January 2024.

New York State Application – TAP

If you are a NYS resident you may be eligible for the Tuition Assistance Program. You can either apply using this link or on your FAFSA confirmation page.

Important First Steps to Completing a FAFSA

In order to complete a FAFSA application students and parents will first need to create a FSA ID, which is used to sign in and complete a FAFSA application.  You can create your FSA ID at studentaid.gov.  An FSA ID consists of a username and password you create to gain access to the U.S. Department of Education's online systems. An FSA ID can also serve as your legal signature when completing electronic documents.

Changes to the FAFSA

  • The number of questions on the FAFSA has decreased from over 100 to less than 50.
  • Housing plan question will be removed from the FAFSA application when selecting school options.
  • The EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) is now the Student Aid Index (SAI).
  • Number in college question will still be collected from the student, however this will not be part of the new SAI calculation.
  • The Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) has been renamed the Federal Taxpayer Information (FTI).
  • The Custodial Parent on your FAFSA will be the parent who provides you with the most financial support and will no longer be the parent with who you lived with the most over the past 12 months.
  • Students, spouses, parents, and stepparents will now need to provide their consent in the new Consent to Retrieve and Disclose Federal Tax Information section of the FAFSA for federal student aid eligibility.
  • This consent will allow the IRS to share FTI.
  • If any party to the FAFSA form does not provide consent, submission of the form will still be allowed. However, a Student Aid Index (SAI) will not be calculated.