Lansing Community College

What's Changing?

Federal Student Aid (FSA) is changing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to make applying for financial aid easier. This new, shorter FAFSA is now open to complete! The 2024-2025 FAFSA will provide aid for the 2024-2025 school year.

Some of the major changes to the 2024-2025 FAFSA are as follows:

  • The FAFSA is shorter and more user-friendly. The number of questions have been reduced from 108 to 46.
  • EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is replaced with SAI (Student Aid Index). The SAI may be a negative number.
  • Another new term, contributor(s) is anyone required to provide information on a student's FAFSA such as a parent/step-parent or spouse. Contributors will be determined by the student's or parent's answers on the FAFSA. The student will send an invitation to the contributor via email to provide their consent and information on the student's FAFSA.
  • Previously, there was an option to utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool or enter tax information manually. Applicants and contributors will now be required to use the IRS Direct Data Exchange. Consent to access contributor tax information must be provided or the student's FAFSA will be incomplete and they will be ineligible for Federal student aid.
  • For students with divorced or separated parents, how to determine which parent's information to use on the FAFSA has changed. Students must now use the parent who provided the most financial support in the 12 months leading up to the filing of the FAFSA.
  • The number of people in the household who are in college, although collected on the FAFSA, will not be used to determine the SAI.
  • The value of Family Farms and Small Businesses must now be reported as assets.

Next Steps!

  1. Creating A Federal Student Aid Account Username and Password (FSA ID): If a student didn't submit a FAFSA form for the previous academic year (2023–2024), it's still crucial to create a Federal Student Aid Username and Password at StudentAid.gov. Both the student and, if applicable, the spouse of independent students or parents/step-parents of dependent students will need to create their respective accounts.
  2. Using the Student Aid Estimator: Utilize the Student Aid Estimator tool to estimate the eligibility for financial aid for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. This tool provides an estimate based on the provided information and helps in planning for educational expenses.
  3. FAFSA Submission Date: Visit StudentAid.gov to complete and submit the 2024-2025 FAFSA. This is the official application for federal student aid, and submitting it in a timely manner is important to qualify for various types of financial aid.
  4. Get Informed: Take advantage of the videos and FAQs below to deepen your understanding of the latest updates and changes in the FAFSA application process.

College Access Professionals

FAFSA Simplification Fact Sheet

5 Things College Access Professionals Should Know

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Brief for Campus Partners 

Informative Videos about the 2024-2025 FAFSA

StarZone

The StarZone is home to many student service departments such as admissions, academic advising, financial aid, student finance, testing and more! Visit the Enrollment Support Specialists in the StarZone for help with admissions, class registration, general financial aid questions and more.

Student chats with helper at the StarZone in the Gannon building

Phone: 517-483-1200
Toll Free: 800-644-4522
Fax: 517-483-9668

lcc-starzone@star.lcc.edu

Downtown Campus
Gannon Building
411 N. Grand Ave
Lansing, MI 48933

StarZone Hours
Campus Map

Other Contacts

Registrar's Office

Phone: 517-483-1200 option 2
Email: registrar@lcc.edu
Online Chat

Financial Aid

Phone: 517-483-1200 option 1
Email: financialaid@lcc.edu

Academic Advising

Phone: 517-483-1200 option 4
Email: eadvising@lcc.edu

Testing Services

Phone: 517-267-5500
Email: lcc-testing-services@lcc.edu