As of May 10, 2015, the U. S. Department of Education replaced the FAFSA PIN with the Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID. The new FSA ID will allow students and parents access to the FAFSA with a username and password rather than having to enter sensitive information such as name, date of birth and social security numbers as was previously necessary with the PIN. This allows for a more secure login process. While changes never tend to be easy at the start, I believe this will make things more simplistic down the road. Here are some things you need to know about this new change:
- The FSA ID allows for a single, secure login for accessing all of the U. S. Department of education’s web sites including FAFSA, StudentLoans.gov, StudentAid.gov and the National Student Loan Data System.
- A unique FSA ID will be required for the parent and each student.
- Each FSA ID will require a separate email. Do not use a parent’s email to create a student’s FSA ID.
- Everyone will be required to change their FSA ID password every two years.
- You will need to create your new FSA ID in order to sign the Master Promissory Note to accept Direct Loans and the Parent PLUS Loan. Yes, the timing could have been better!
More information about this change can be found here.
