2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) Updates And Information
In light of the significant delay in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application process, the availability of students’ FAFSA award information to all universities was impacted. GCU has now received the FAFSA award information for the majority of submitted FAFSAs. There remains a delay in receiving information for those who filed paper FAFSAs and some records may still require reprocessing and/or corrections.
It takes GCU approximately three days to receive a copy of the FAFSA data after a student submits the form. Once received by GCU, your Student Services Counselor will contact you to collect any additional documentation that may be required. After all documentation has been collected and processed, students will be able to set up their payment plans well in advance of the July 15, 2024 financial clearance deadline to secure student housing and registration.
If you have not already done so, you are encouraged to complete your 2024-25 FAFSA and include GCU’s school code (001074) to begin the process. To avoid any awarding delays, please use your legal first/last name and valid social security number and make sure to read each question thoroughly before providing your answers, as FAFSA corrections may not be able to be processed before the financial clearance deadline. Some corrections, such as those to names and social security numbers, must be completed by the students. Please direct any questions you have to your student services or university admissions counselor: 1-855-GCU-LOPE.
Key Dates for 2024-25 Award Year
The 2024-25 FAFSA application was released later than prior years due to a significant overhaul of the application to support the FAFSA Simplification Act. To assist students during this period, we have provided a chart with anticipated milestone dates. For GCU-specific information, please contact your university counselor.
| Milestone | Anticipated Date | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 FAFSA release date | 12/31/23 | Release date for the 2024-25 FAFSA application by the Department of Education. Any application delays or downtimes will be communicated through alerts on the FAFSA website. |
| 2024-25 FAFSA information available to GCU | Mid-March through April 2024 | Although some 2024-25 FAFSA info started to be received in mid-March, issues related to processing and the ability for families to make required updates to the FAFSA data have delayed the receipt of final outcomes. Meanwhile, students can use the federal aid estimator or FAFSA Submission Summary for eligibility and amount assessments |
| 2024-25 FAFSA completed by students for Fall 2024 semester | Daily | Complete 2024-25 FAFSA for Fall 2024 semester at GCU traditional campus; certain Federal Student Aid Awards are limited and awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. |
| GCU will begin packaging Federal Student Aid awards to eligible students | Mid May | Anticipated date that GCU will begin adding Federal Student Aid awards to student records. |
| Fall 2024 semester financial clearance deadline | 7/15/24 | Financial clearance deadline for all Fall 2024 semester students at GCU, including completion of Federal Student Aid paperwork. |
| ED correction update | 7/30/24 | On July 30, 2024, we received an announcement from the Department of Education that the schools will not be able to do certain batch functions for the 2024-25 year that could result in delayed aid for some college students, especially those who require corrections to their 2024-25 FAFSA by the school. |
Chart updated as of Aug. 22, 2024
Explore the following additional resources to enhance your understanding of the 2024-25 FAFSA soft launch:
Pell Awards are only an estimate and are not guaranteed. Your Pell award (if applicable) may be based on the prior year’s Pell amounts depending on when your estimate is created. GCU estimated your Pell award based on the information you submitted from either your Federal Student Aid estimator, your FAFSA completion notification email, your FAFSA submission summary or information transferred to GCU from your completed FAFSA. This information is subject to change and is only used to provide an estimate. You can monitor the progress of your Federal Student Aid offer and scholarship awards through your financial estimate located in your student portal within the finance hub.