Important Dates and What's New
(last updated March 10, 2008)
The 2007-08 Free Application or Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is comprised of seven sections that collect demographic and financial information about the student and his or her parents.
The colors of the 2007-08 FAFSA are yellow for the student information and purple for the parent information. Several changes were made to the design and layout. Data elements have been deleted and new elements have been added to meet the requirements of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA). Instructions have been reworded to improve clarity and questions were moved or renumbered for a more logical flow.
Highlights of the changes:
- The 2007-08 FAFSA and FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) instructions were updated to include the HERA changes made to the 2006-07 student eligibility determination
- Drug Conviction Eligibility
- Independent Student definition – Active Military Duty
- The definition of estimated financial assistance (EFA)
- Optional cost of attendance (COA) components
- Treatment of qualified education benefits, such as IRS 529 prepaid tuition and savings plans
- Simplified Needs Test and Automatic Zero EFC calculation changes
- Treatment of certain assets and resources
- Increases in the Income Protection Allowance (IPA) and decreases in the Asset Contribution Rate for students and parents that will have the effect of lowering the EFC
- IRS tax form line references have been updated
- Reduction of the number of school choices from six to four on the paper FAFSA. Students can still enter up to six college choices on FAFSA on the Web.
Refer to the 2007-08 Summary of Changes for the Application Processing System Guide for more information about the changes and enhancements made to 2007-08 processing system.
Important Dates and What's New
The important dates are listed in chronological order by month, with the newest information listed first. As new information about the 2007-08 application processing cycle becomes available, it is added to the appropriate month in this section. Browse this page periodically to find out what's new.
March 2008
2007-08 ISIR Reprocessing on March 7, 2008 for Records Improperly Assigned Social Security Number (SSN) Match
Flag of "1"
January 2008
2007-08 FSA Handbook Errata and Updates
October 2007
What's New in the 2007-08 Federal Student Aid Handbook
Enrollment Requirements for the National SMART Grant Program
September 2007
Revised List of Eligible Majors for Academic Year 2007-08
Updated ACG Recognized Rigorous Secondary School Programs of Study for 2007 Graduates and Updated/Expanded Resource Guide
August 2007
Volume 6 - FSA Handbook: Campus-Based Programs
Volume 2 - FSA Handbook: Institutional Eligibility
June 2007
Volume 4 - FSA Handbook: Processing Aid and Managing Federal Student Aid Funds
May 2007
Volume 1 - FSA Handbook: Student Eligibility
Volume 5 - FSA Handbook: Overawards, Overpayments, & Withdrawal Calculations
Issue Alert: Updates to Wording for Worksheet C Implemented on 2007-08 FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) Site to Reduce Incorrect Responses by Students and Parents
The 2007-08 Federal Student Aid's on-line training opportunities on the FSA Assessments, the ISIR Analysis Tool, and the Quality Assurance Program are now available.
April 2007
Notifications to 2007-08 Applicants Reminding Them to Update Estimated Income Information
New Guidelines for Submitting a G-845, Immigration Status/Document Verification Request
FAFSA4caster, FAFSA on the Web, and PIN Banner Ads for your Web Site
2007-08 Application and Verification Guide
March 2007
CPS Reprocessing of Certain 2007-08 ISIRs Due to 2007-08 Award Year Federal Pell Grant Program Payment and Disbursement Schedule Revisions Scheduled for March 22, 2007.
Upcoming CPS Reprocessing of Records for Students Now Eligible for a 2007-08 Pell Grant
February 2007
Updated--Continuing Resolution's Impact on the 2007-08 Award Year
Changes to the 2006 IRS 1040EZ form and instructions for determining the number of exemptions requires a correction to the 2007-08 FAFSA instructions for questions 37 and 81.
January 2007
2007-08 Drug Conviction Worsheet
2007-08 Renewal FAFSA reminder notifications will be sent to students from January 17, 2007 through February 16, 2007.
Updated FAFSA on the Web Instructions Explaining How to Report Qualified Education Benefit Plans and Education Savings Accounts
CPS (Central Processing System - application processing) starts up on January 3, 2007
FOTW, Renewal FOTW, Corrections on the Web, FAA Access to CPS Online available on January 1, 2007
December 2006
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) G-845 form replaces G-845S form
2007-08 Verification Worksheets
2007-08 Counselors and Mentors Handbook on Federal Student Aid
2007-08 Central Processing System (CPS) Web Applications Demonstration Site
User Name: eddemo
Password: fafsatest
November 2006
2007-08 FSA Coach for Foreign Schools
2007-08 EFC Formula Guide
2007-08 Student Web Application Products Process Guide
October 2006
Final English version of the 2007-08 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Note: Due to pending legislation that may further affect 2006 tax returns and the IRS line item references on the paper FAFSA, the availability of the 2007-08 FAFSA may be delayed.
2007-08 FAFSA on the Web Worksheets
2007-08 Operational Implementation Guidance Including HERA-Related Updates
Colleges asked to -- Submit 2006-07 Student Aid Report (SAR) and Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) Corrections by January 12, 2007 in Preparation for 2007-08 Renewal FAFSA Reminder Distribution
2007-08 CPS Test System User Guide
The CPS Test System User Guide describes the Central Processing System (CPS) Test System, which is designed to allow schools to test electronic application and/or correction data from their systems with the CPS.
2007-08 Summary of Changes for the Application Processing System Guide
September 2006
DCL GEN-06-16, announces the release of the enhanced FSAP Pubs Web site. The DCL describes the new self-serve online ordering process at FSApubs.org. Go to FSApubs to find the forms that are currently available to order and the anticipated date that orders will be shipped.
2007-08 FAFSA Renewal Process Guide
Prior to September 2006
Announcements relating to the 2007-08 processing cycle that were published prior to September 2006 can be found at IFAP.
Creation of two scholarship programs: the Academic Competitive Grant (ACG) and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant. The application process for each of these programs begins with the completion of the FAFSA. Refer to IFAP for implementation guidance.
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