FAFSA Information & Updates
Time to Renew your FAFSA® 24-25
For all students who are attending Summer and Fall '24, please remember to complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) 24-25 application. Please remember the FAFSA® application has to be renewed every academic year, an academic year is measured from Fall to Spring. If you attended spring and are doing summer school you should have both applications 23-24 (previous) and 24-25 (upcoming) completed. There is some overlap for types of financial aid you can receive. For Summer '24 you will need to complete a FAFSA® 23-24 to receive Pell Grant during the summer and FAFSA® 24-25 to receive CCCPG during the summer. For more details or if you need help filling out a FAFSA® application you can make an appointment here with an NCEOC Advisor.
Click here to complete or renew your FAFSA® 2024-2025
What Students and Their Families Need to Know
Higher Education Opens Doors to Opportunity
The U.S. Department of Education is making transformational changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. The FAFSA form is an application that students and families need to complete to apply for federal student aid, such as federal grants, work-study funds, and loans. Completing and submitting the FAFSA form is free, and it gives students access to the largest source of financial aid to help pay for higher education.
The Better FAFSA is:
- Simple and streamlined
- Easier to fill out—many people complete it in under 15 minutes
7.1 MILLION
total students expected to be eligible for Pell Grants
- 665,000 more students will receive Federal Pell Grants
- Over 1.7 million more students will receive the maximum Pell Grant
- All students will be able to access the maximum financial aid for which they are eligible
Better FAFSA Timeline
for the 2024-25 Award Year
NOW
- Students and families should complete and submit the 2024-25 FAFSA form
MARCH
- The Department begins transmitting FAFSA information to schools and state agencies for processing
STARTING IN APRIL
- Colleges review FAFSA information for students who applied for admission
- Colleges start sending aid packages to students
JULY 1
- FAFSA award year starts
Note: Students and families should check critical deadlines for their institutions and states regarding scholarships and enrollment commitments.
Types of Financial Aid:
Loans, Grants, and Work-Study Programs
Financial aid includes grants, work-study, and loans. To begin, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). Below, you'll find details on available aid and how to qualify.
Scholarships are available year-round from places like your work, or a foundation or group offering scholarships for eligible students. You use a service like Scholarships.com, or you can apply on your own to any private scholarship you learn about. Palomar College also has a scholarship application, it opens once a year in January and closes in March. You can click here to learn more about Scholarships from Palomar College.
Grants are free money for you to keep*. To receive grants you must complete a FAFSA®, it's very important that you add Palomar College (Federal School Code 001260) or your school of choice to your application. After the Department of Education has reviewed your application they will send it to Palomar College and/or your school(s) who will review your FAFSA® and award you aid based on eligibility and need. Some schools like Palomar College use Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to determine continued eligibility for Financial Aid*.
*Students must meet the SAP guidelines to maintain Financial Aid Eligibility
Federal Work-Study provides funds for part-time employment for college and university students. Participating institutions include colleges, universities, federal/state or local public agencies, private non-profit and for-profit organizations. Jobs include tutors, peer mentoring and more. Students must file a FAFSA® as part of the application process to receive FWS. Palomar College offers FWS, click here to learn more.
Loans have to be paid back with interest. There are 3 types of loans if the need should arise.
- Federal Student Loans
- Subsidized Loans
- This type of loan is awarded based on need, as determined by the FAFSA®. The Federal Government pays the interest on this type of loan.
- Unsubsidized Loans
- This type of loan is awarded regardless of income, interest accrues from the time the loan is disbursed.
- Subsidized Loans
- State or Local College Loans
- Some specialized schools offer loans to help you pay for the program you choose to enroll in.
- Private Loans
- You can visit your local bank, or money lender for a school loan.
Palomar College can assist you with Federal Student Loans, you can click here to learn more.
Grants at Palomar College:
CCPG, Pell Grant & More
After submitting your FAFSA®, Palomar College will determine your grant eligibility. Check your student email for your financial aid package.
Federal Pell Grants, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid. Pell Grants are awarded only to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor's, graduate or professional degree.
- The maximum Federal Pell Grant award is $7,395 for the 2024–25 award year (July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025).
- The amount depends on your financial need, costs to attend school, status as a full-time or part-time student, and plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.
- You are not eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant if you are incarcerated or in a federal or state penal institution or are subject to an involuntary civil commitment upon completion of a period of incarceration for a forcible or nonforcible sexual offense.
To learn more you can click here.
California College Promise Grant (formerly the BOG Fee Waiver) waives enrollment fees for eligible students. CCPG is awarded based on financial need and is available for California residents.
- CCPG waives California residents enrollment fees of $46/unit
- Students must maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher and have a completion rate of 50% of their attempted coursework*
To learn more you can click here.
*Palomar College Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requires completion rate of 66% of your attempted units
The Cal Grant is a California-specific financial aid allocation that does not need to be paid back. Cal Grant applicants must apply using the FAFSA or CA Dream Act Application by the deadline and meet all eligibility, financial, and minimum GPA requirements of either program. Grants are for students attending Universities of California, California State Universities or California Community Colleges, or qualifying independent and career colleges or technical schools in California. CalGrants administered directly by the financial aid office of your institution.
- Submit a FAFSA or CADAA before 3/2 for disbursement in the fall of the same year
- Be a U.S. Citizen or AB540 eligible non-citizen
- Attend a qualifying California Community College or University
- At least 1/2 time enrollment (6 units)
- Maintain SAP
To learn more you can click here. To learn more from Palomar College CalGrant click here.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant is administered directly by the financial aid office of your institution.
- Eligible students must maintain a minimum of 1/2 time enrollment (6 units)
- FW and W are not considered
- Not available in the summer semester
To learn more you can click here. To learn more from Palomar College FSEOG click here.
Student Success Completion Grant is additional support for Cal Grant recipients. The grant provides aid to help offset the cost of community college and to encourage full-time attendance and successful on-time completion.
- Eligible students can receive up to $1,298 per semester ($2,596 annually) for taking 12-14.9 units
- Eligible students can receive up to $4,000 per semester ($8,000 annually) for taking 15 units or more
To learn more you can click here. To learn more from Palomar College SSCG click here.
Financial Aid by Semester
Below is a general guide for financial aid availability, per semester. It is important to do your FAFSA® as soon as the application is available (October 1st*). For CalGrant you must complete a FAFSA® or California Dream Act Application before March 2nd to receive CalGrant for Fall of the same year.
- For Palomar College disbursement dates click here
- For a detailed description of Grants available click here
*Typically, the FAFSA becomes available on October 1st. However, due to the U.S. Department of Education's transition to the NEW BETTER FAFSA, the release date for the 2025-2026 application has been delayed to December 1st. The Department is conducting a phased rollout starting October 1st with limited testing among select students and institutions. Full functionality, including submission and corrections, will be available to all students by December 1st.
FAFSA® 2023-2024
Summer 2023 |
Fall 2023 |
Spring 2024 |
Summer 2024 |
| CCPG | CCPG | CCPG | |
| Pell Grant* | Pell Grant | Pell Grant | Pell Grant |
| FSEOG* | FSEOG | FSEOG | FSEOG |
| SSCG | SSCG | ||
| CalGrant | CalGrant | ||
| FWS | FWS | FWS | FWS |
FAFSA® 2024-2025
Summer 2024 |
Fall 2024 |
Spring 2025 |
Summer 2025 |
| CCPG | CCPG | CCPG | |
| Pell Grant** | Pell Grant | Pell Grant | Pell Grant |
| FSEOG** | FSEOG | FSEOG | FSEOG |
| SSCG | SSCG | ||
| CalGrant | CalGrant | ||
| FWS | FWS | FWS | FWS |
*Pell Grant for Summer '23 only avilable to students who did not complete 24 units during Fall '22 and Spring '23
**Pell Grant for Summer '24 only avilable to students who did not complete 24 units during Fall '23 and Spring '24
How to prepare To Fill Out the FAFSA® Form
Have these documents ready:
- 2022 Tax returns*
- Records of child support received
- Current balances of cash, savings, and checking accounts
- Net worth of investments, businesses, and farms
Have contributor information ready:
- First and last name,
- SSN (if they have one),
- Date of birth, and
- Email address (and mailing address, if they don’t have an SSN)
You (the student) should complete your section of the form first
Read questions and definitions carefully
Consult in-form resources if you need help
Don’t forget to review, sign, and submit the form!
- Review your answers prior to submission
- Monitor your form’s status, and don’t forget to submit the FAFSA form after all of your contributors have signed and all sections are completed
Remember that if you make a mistake, you can correct it
Common Issues
Below we will highlight some of the more common issues and ideas on resolving them
Mixed Status Families
When creating an FSA ID for a parent without a social security number:
- Do not use an ITIN number for the social
- Do not use 0s for the social security number
If your parent has an existing account with an ITIN or non-valid social, you must call the Department of Education at 1-800-433-3243 to have your account fixed
Parent does not receive invite
After inviting an undocumented parent, they will receive the email, but when logging into their account there is no invite in their dashboard
- Check that all the information from invite is accurate word for word for the invitee
- You can delete the FAFSA® and start over again
- You can delete the FAFSA® and start a new one from parents side, inviting the student instead*
*we call this the backwards FAFSA and it is a known common work-around for some of your issues
More coming soon
As we tackle special situations comments and tips from TRIO NCEOC will be posted here
If you need help filling out a FAFSA® application you can make an appointment here with an NCEOC Advisor.
FAFSA® 2024-2025 Issues
The Department of Education is aware of all major issues with the new Better FAFSA®, and is constantly updating, fixing and maintaining all-known issues for students trying to complete and submit a FAFSA®. You can visit the page on the button for updates on open and closed issues. Tips with work-arounds are also posted on this resource page. Please note that your experience with issues may vary and your specific issue may not be listed.
Click here for issue alerts
FAFSA® 2024-2025 News
The Department of Education is aware of all major issues with the new Better FAFSA®, and is constantly updating, fixing and maintaining all-known issues for students trying to complete and submit a FAFSA®. You can visit the page on the button for updates on open and closed issues. Tips with work-arounds are also posted on this resource page. Please note that your experience with issues may vary and your specific issue may not be listed.
Click here for news
Additional Resources
Follow @castudentaid on Instagram for further updates, tips and tricks on the new Better FAFSA 2024-25