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The U.S. Department of Education is implementing the  to streamline the financial aid application process for students and families. Our financial aid staff at UTEP are here to answer your questions and guide you through the process. To submit your FAFSA if you parents or other contributors don't have a Social Security Number, please follow the  (para completar tu FAFSA si tus padres u otros contribuyentes no tienen un número de seguro social, sigue las ).

TIPS FOR INVITING CONTRIBUTORS TO SIGN THE FAFSA

• When entering information about your parents, start with the parent with the highest income.
• If your parents are married, did not work in the US and only have income in Mexico, use the following information to make sure you can invite both parents:
  • Answer "no" to the question about filing a 2022 IRS form 1040.
  • Indicate either that:
    • "the parent filed or will file a foreign tax return", or
    • "either the parent earned income in a foreign country but still did not and will not file a foreign tax return..."
  • Answer "no" to the question about filing a 2022 joint tax return.
  • Select "married filing separately" for the filing status.
  • Review our Foreign Tax Return Guide for help on how to complete the FAFSA with information from a Mexican tax return.
  • These answers may or may not be correct for countries other than Mexico.
• The parent information provided on the FAFSA invite must match the information used to create the parents' FSA ID account:
  • The name must be entered exactly the same way, pay attention to double last names, hyphenated names, spelling, and capitalization.
  • The date of birth must also match.
  • The street address must also be written the same way (St. vs Street, Dr. vs Drive, Ave. vs Avenida, abbreviations with or without periods, number first or street name first).
  • For all of these, make sure there are no extra spaces.
  • Zip codes for addresses not in the US should be all zeroes (00000).
  • Select "FC (foreign country)" for the state when the address is not in the US.
• To compare both the FAFSA and the FSA ID, it is helpful to open both in different browsers and put them side by side.
• To access this information in the FSA ID, have the contributor log into , click on their name in the top right corner, select 'settings' from the dropdown, and find the name and date of birth under 'personal information' and address under 'contact information'.

Q: What is the FAFSA Simplification Act?

A: In 2020, the U.S. Congress passed a law called the FAFSA Simplification Act that included implementing a revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to streamline the financial aid application process for students and families. The form now has fewer questions, expands Pell Grant eligibility, and reduces barriers for homeless and unaccompanied youth, and students from low-income backgrounds.

Q: When does the FAFSA Simplification Act go into effect?

A: The FAFSA Simplification Act is being implemented for the 2024-2025 financial aid award year. The online FAFSA is now available.

Q: Will the delays with the FAFSA and processing affect the financial aid award offer I receive from UTEP?

A: No, financial aid eligibility will not be affected by the FAFSA processing delay. We are dedicated to assisting eligible students receive grants, scholarships, and other financial aid. UTEP is proud to be an excellent choice for an affordable and outstanding college experience.

Q: I’m worried that because of the difficulties I’m having with submitting the 2024-2025 FAFSA that I won’t be able to submit it in time to receive financial aid by the payment deadline. What can I do?

A: While student eligibility shouldn't be affected by the delay, students are encouraged to make alternative payment arrangements, such as enrolling in an installment payment plan or tuition loan, to avoid having classes dropped for nonpayment.

Q: When should I expect to hear back about my financial aid award offer for UTEP?

A: UTEP has begun receiving FAFSA data from the U.S. Department of Education, and our office is diligently working to process this information. If you have submitted your FAFSA, expect to receive additional information via email in April.

Q: What if the delay in receiving information about my financial aid award offer doesn’t leave me enough time to carefully consider my college choices before the decision deadlines?

A: UTEP does not have a decision deadline, so students can take the time they need to consider their financial aid award offer after receiving it

Q: What are the specific changes in the FAFSA this year?

A: Some specific changes to the FAFSA include the following:

• The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) has been replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI), which is a different way to determine financial aid eligibility.
• Tax information will be directly imported into the FAFSA from the IRS.
• The SAI will no longer take the number of students in a family in college into consideration. This may reduce need-based aid eligibility for current students with siblings in college.
• Students will be able to list up to 20 colleges/universities on the FAFSA.
• Each Contributor (student, student’s spouse, parent(s), and/or stepparent) will have to provide consent to complete the FAFSA. If any contributors do not provide their consent, the SAI will not be calculated, and eligibility for financial aid cannot be determined.
• For students whose parents are separated or divorced, the guidance on which parent income to report has changed to the parent who provides the most financial support for the student, rather than the parent the student lived with the most.
• Students who are considered independent due to homelessness or qualifying dependency override no longer need to recertify their dependency status each year unless their situation changes.
• When required, families must now report the value of their small business or family farm.

Q: Where can I learn more?

A: For additional information, the U.S. Department of Education has created a    page. You can bookmark the page and check it periodically.