With the uncertainty surrounding the US Government and the future of the Department of Education(DOE) I’m nervous about Principia’s switch to FAFSA and what it could mean for me and other domestic students just trying to pay for school. Don’t get me wrong, I think FAFSA is a good thing but, at the moment, President Trump and his administration have shown their adamancy towards dismantling the infrastructure that holds up FAFSA.
One main difference between FAFSA and the CSS Profile is how the Student Aid Index (SAI) formerly known as the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) is calculated. Many people can get different SAIs from each financial aid packet which can affect students who may normally rely on higher financial aid to pay their tuition.
THE FUTURE OF PELL GRANTS AND WORK STUDIES
The biggest benefactors of FAFSA are the Pell Grant and Federal Work Study programs offered to students. These programs, however, have an uncertain future despite being supported by a majority of US constituents. In 2023 the Republican party proposed a bill to cut the work study program. This bill failed, but it shows the agenda of the current Republican Party to push back on the program.
Looking towards the Pell Grant—which does receive bipartisan support—the Congressional Budget Office(CBO) predicted that the budget surplus for the Pell Grant will run out in the next fiscal year. This means that if the amount of aid needed surpasses the budget, there will be no way for students to receive the full aid they need. If this happens, the government will either raise the budget,—which seems unlikely with the current pushback against higher education programs and massive funding cuts— or the eligibility requirements will be shifted, causing more students to lose the aid they would normally receive. Even now, the Pell Grant has remained stagnant and already is unable to keep up with inflation. Challenges like these only cause more concern for those of us who are now relying on this aid.
CHANGES TO FAFSA
Already the new administration is making changes for both the FAFSA form and the DOE which can have unintended consequences on how much students can receive. At the beginning of February the government decided to remove the option for non-binary under gender selection and already are promising to change the form further to resolve “failures of the last Administration” (US Department of Education). While the gender selection will not affect a student’s SAI, other changes can have the capability of effecting a student’s eligibility and the amount of aid they would receive. Changes in FAFSA’s rollout with the switch to a new administration could also cause delays which has been shown to impact students. In 2024 when FAFSA was being revamped, the delay and changed formula of FAFSA affected aid eligibility of students at about 80% of the private schools using FAFSA. Already looking at the friction of the new administration stepping up, it is likely that this kind of shift could happen again.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE DOE SHUTS DOWN
Not that I necessarily think the DOE will shut down, but in the case the Trump administration is able to get it cut there are two places that FAFSA could probably shift to: the Department of Treasury or to the States. If FAFSA shifts to the Treasury, loans are likely to shift to be more income-driven with higher interest rates and less concern for the students paying them. If FAFSA shifts to the states, the wealthier states would likely be able to compensate for the students but poorer states would be hung up to dry. With 50 different state systems it would also be harder to get funding for interstate education which would affect a majority of Prin students who hail from outside of Illinois.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While I only have one more year left at Prin, and many of these changes will likely not affect me, I’m still concerned about how these changes could affect younger students and those who choose to attend Prin in the upcoming years. Yes, Prin will still provide private aid for students, but it can still cause concern for students as we enter a time of uncertainty surrounding the relationship between the government and higher education. I do believe FAFSA is a good program meant to help students, but I can’t help but hold my breath on how the FAFSA performs over the next few years.
Sources
https://www.ncan.org/news/693401/CBO-Predicts-Pell-Surplus-Will-Be-Depleted-This-Year.htm
https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/pell-grant-program-faces-2-7-billion-deficit/
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/12/trump-doge-education-elon-musk-cuts.html