For more information about FAFSA Simplification, visit Federal Student Aid
To receive Federal Student Aid, you must complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to Lincoln Memorial University. The FAFSA can be completed at studentaid.gov. To complete the FAFSA, you must create an FSA ID. The FAFSA is available starting on October 1st of each year, except for the 25-26 FAFSA, which was officially released on November 21, 2024. The FAFSA has to be completed for each academic year of enrollment. To submit the FAFSA to LMU, use our federal school code, 003502. The FAFSA will use prior-prior year (two years ago) Federal Tax Information (FTI). Dependent students are required to report their parent(s) information on the FAFSA. To be eligible for federal student aid, students and their contributors must consent and agree to have their FTI transferred from the IRS to the FAFSA through the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX).
After submitting your FAFSA, it takes the U.S. Department of Education 3-5 days to process it. Once your FAFSA is processed, they will send you instructions on how to access an online copy of your FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS), which is a summary of your FAFSA. You should review your FSS for accuracy. You can log back into your FAFSA and make corrections if anything is incorrect. Once your FAFSA is processed, the U.S. Department of Education will send it to the colleges you listed. Once LMU receives your FAFSA, you can track your application status through the MyLMU Self-Service Portal (WebAdvisor for Students – Financial Aid).
Sometimes, we must collect additional information or documents from students before we can process financial aid. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) randomly selects students for a review process called verification. ED may require documents for reasons other than verification. Students may be flagged for numerous reasons, including, but not limited to, citizenship status, loan default, and unusual enrollment. If you are flagged, you will be notified through MyLMU and receive an email notifying you about the required documents you must submit. You must promptly respond to all requests from the Office of Student Financial Services to avoid delays in processing your financial aid.
The FAFSA Simplification Act was enacted into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2022. The FAFSA Simplification Act revises processes and systems used to award federal financial aid starting with the 2024-2025 award year.
For more information about FAFSA Simplification, visit Federal Student Aid
Due to implementing the FAFSA Simplification Act, the release of the 2025-2026 FAFSA was delayed until November 21, 2024. After the 25-26 award year, the FAFSA will return to an October 1st release date.
The SAI will be a new measure to determine students’ and families’ ability to pay for college. How the U.S. Department of Education calculates the SAI will change. Among the changes, the new formula will not include the number of family members in college. It will not allow an exclusion from assets for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees and family farms on which the family resides. The SAI can go as low as -1,500 to identify the neediest students.
The determination of family size will change to align more with what is reported on the student/parents’ tax returns. When a dependent student’s parents are not married to each other, are divorced, or separated, the student will now report the information of the parent who provides more financial support to the student. If that parent is remarried as of the date the FAFSA is filed, the stepparent’s income, assets, and dependents must also be reported on the FAFSA.
Starting with the 24-25 award year, the FAFSA will have fewer questions. Male students will no longer be required to register with the Selective Service System to receive federal student aid. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) is being replaced by the Future Act Direct Data Exchange (FADDX). Students and parents will be required to consent to the FADDX. Anyone required to consent will be considered a contributor and will need an FSA ID. If an independent student and their spouse file separate returns, the spouse will be considered a contributor and must consent. If a dependent student’s parents file separate returns, both parents will be contributors and must consent
Pell Grant eligibility will be linked to family size and the federal poverty level, which will expand eligibility to more students.
