Kansas State University has started packaging federal and state aid for incoming 2017 fall semester freshmen — about two months earlier than in past years.

The first round of new, incoming undergraduate freshman who applied and were eligible for aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, received aid packages notifications via their K-State email, and any parent email listed as part of the application, on Feb. 13. Students should respond to the offers in K-State’s Student Information System, or KSIS.

“We are sending out notifications about financial assistance earlier than ever before, ” said Robert Gamez, director of student financial assistance. “This gives students and their families more time than in past years to prepare for the costs of a college degree and help them understand what financial assistance is available to them.”

According to Gamez, the federal government introduced two significant chances to the FAFSA for the 2017-18 academic year.

“The first change is that income / federal tax information can now reference an earlier calendar year, effectively removing the stress often encountered by families who struggled to complete their federal taxes to meet a school’s FAFSA priority date, “Gamez said. “The second change is the FAFSA application is available three months earlier than ever before.

The two changes allow students and families applying for aid for the 2017-18 academic year to use information from the 2015 tax year in the FAFSA application, meaning they could have completed the FAFSA as early as Oct. 1, 2016.