Kelsey Sheehy is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She started at NerdWallet in 2015 and spent six years as a personal finance writer and spokesperson before switching gears to cover the financial decisions and challenges faced by small-business owners. Kelsey’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the "Today" show, NBC News and ABC’s "World News Tonight" and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC, American Banker, NPR and Vice, among other publications. Prior to joining NerdWallet, Kelsey covered college (and how to pay for it) for U.S. News & World Report. She is based in Washington, D.C.
Lead Assigning Editor Karen Gaudette Brewer
Lead Assigning Editor | Core Personal Finance, Student Loans, Public Policy
Karen Gaudette Brewer leads the Core Personal Finance team at NerdWallet. Previously, she guided students and their families through the ins and outs of paying for college and managing student debt on the Higher Education team. Helping people navigate complex money decisions and feel more confident brings her great joy: as the daughter of an immigrant, from an early age she was the translator of financial documents and the person who called the credit card company to fix fraud.
She joined NerdWallet with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms and leading editorial teams, most recently as executive editor of HealthCentral. She launched her journalism career with The Associated Press and later worked for The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise, The Seattle Times, PCC Community Markets and Allrecipes.com.
She is a graduate of the 2022 Poynter Institute Leadership Academy for Women in Media. Her writing has been honored by the Society for Features Journalism and the Society of Professional Journalists. In addition, she’s the author of two books about the Pacific Northwest.
Fact Checked Co-written by Eliza Haverstock Lead Writer Eliza Haverstock
Lead Writer | Student loan repayment, paying for college
Eliza Haverstock is NerdWallet's higher education writer, where she covers all aspects of college affordability and student loans. Previously, she reported on billionaires and investing for Forbes in New York, and she also covered private markets for PitchBook in Seattle. Eliza got started at her college newspaper at the University of Virginia and interned for Bloomberg, where she spent a summer writing a feature story about plastic straws. She is based in Washington, D.C.
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When can I update my FAFSA application? The redesigned FAFSA for the 2024-25 academic year is available at FAFSA.gov. After major delays, the FAFSA corrections process opened on April 16 to students and families who submitted incorrect or incomplete forms.
You can still submit the 2023-24 FAFSA until June 30, 2024.
After you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA , you'll get your Student Aid Report.
The Student Aid Report indicates your financial aid eligibility for the relevant academic year and includes copies of your FAFSA responses. It is not a financial aid offer.
Here’s what you need to know about your Student Aid Report results and how they’ll factor into your financial aid package.
The Student Aid Report provides basic information about your financial aid eligibility. Starting with the new 2024-25 FAFSA, the Student Aid Report will include your Student Aid Index (SAI). This metric is replacing Expected family Contribution (EFC) to help determine how much college financial aid for which you’ll qualify. The 2023-24 FAFSA, which closes on June 30, 2024, still uses EFC.
In addition to your SAI or EFC, the Student Aid Report includes:
Your FAFSA inputs. Estimated eligibility for federal student loans . Estimated eligibility for the need-based Pell Grant .Your four-digit data release number (DRN), which you’ll need if you want to give your college the ability to change certain information on your FAFSA.
If your FAFSA was incomplete, your Student Aid Report will include instructions on how to resolve any issues before you can receive your SAI or EFC.
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As long as you have a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID , you can view your Student Aid Report as soon as your FAFSA has been processed. Just log into your FSA account on fafsa.gov . Starting with the new 2024-25 FAFSA, everyone who fills out the form will need a unique FSA ID — parents, guardians or spouses included.
It can take up to two weeks to get your report after submitting your FAFSA. Check the status of your FAFSA by logging into your FSA account, and navigating to the “My FAFSA” page. If you submit the FAFSA by paper instead of online, expect it to be processed 7-10 days after the date you mail it in.
Review the report carefully to make sure all the information you provided is correct. That information determines your SAI or EFC and your eligibility for federal and institutional aid, so it’s crucial that it’s accurate and up to date.
If you find a mistake, like an error in your address, go to your FSA account to update that information . If the Social Security number or any tax information imported from the IRS on your FAFSA is incorrect, though, you might have to submit a new application on paper. In that case, contact your school’s financial aid office to find out what your next step should be.
If your current financial situation is different than what’s reported in your FAFSA — for example, if your parents’ income this year will be substantially less than the information on the tax returns you provided — talk with the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend.
Only after you have exhausted all federal and free student aid — such as grants, scholarships and subsidized loans — should you turn to private student loans .
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Kelsey Sheehy is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has appeared on the "Today" show and NBC News, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. See full bio.
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Eliza Haverstock is a lead writer on NerdWallet's student loan team covering loan repayment and alternatives to traditional four-year degrees. See full bio.
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