Lake Shore High School has a College Advisor, Karah Tanski. She is here to help us get a better understanding of what this new update means for students and their guardians!

“So FAFSA has went down from 100 questions to 30, and it is now easier to retrieve their taxes. Now almost every single person can just transfer over which saves a good hour and a half,” Tanski said. 

“One of the things I do want people to know is they have to create their ID for FAFSA one to three days before they fill out FAFSA because they have to verify all the information which is new and is something people need to know,” she continued. 

“Something following years should keep in mind is to know their social security number, period. Also, making sure that guardians who are contributors have an account. Every single contributor needs an account so they can be linked to the student’s account.¨, said Tanski. 

We also discussed how some students don’t live with their parents and live with another guardian and how students with these living arrangements would fill out FAFSA. 

 Tanski said, “Now for students that are in the foster care system or are more independent, they don’t have to put any parental information. There is another new thing which is called ‘special circumstances’ This is for students who don’t have a typical home life so say maybe their parent is their legal guardian but they don’t live with them.”

This new and improved version of FAFSA was released on New Year’s Day! This made it so graduating students of 2024-2025 are now finally able to fill out FAFSA.. normally students are to this out during October which is college month for students in Michigan, where students can sign up for schools and usually the entry fee is waived. FAFSA should be filled out by April, and Tanski will be holding more workshops for students and guardians to attend. 

“I have not yet filled out FAFSA and I’m hoping I can get some funding from it. I plan on majoring in graphic design and I’m planning on going to CCS,” said Julian Smith, senior. 

“I haven’t completed FAFSA yet but I know that it is going to help a lot because it’s going to open more schools to me.. because it makes them more affordable.”, said Frida Morha, senior, who is considering majoring in computer science or marketing. 

“FAFSA has given me the opportunity to apply for schools that without I probably wouldn’t have considered… and I believe it gives students an opportunity to get into schools they also didn’t consider before FAFSA,” said Roland Bertholet III, class of 2024, planning on attending Central Michigan for phycology.

Something Tanski wanted parents to know about student loans is that it’s not necessarily going to be in the parent’s name. For a regular loan, it goes to the student’s name unless it is specifically put under the parent’s name. Also, students need the tax forms from 2022. So overall the update with FAFSA hasn’t exactly made it easier but it is getting better and more accommodating for others. So don’t forget seniors fill out your FAFSA!