FAFSA Form Gets Simplified
Do you dread filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or Fafsa? I know we do. Well, there’s good news for us. The Fafsa is about to get shorter and easier.
The government uses the FAFSA to calculate a student’s eligibility for financial aid, including Pell grants, student loans, and college work-study programs. Most colleges also require it as part of their financial aid application process.
The form has more than 150 questions on a student’s family income, savings and assets. The changes involve eliminating questions, providing quicker estimates and streamlining information from the Internal Revenue Service.
The changes are supposed to make it easier to apply for financial aid — and thereby increase college enrollment among low-income and middle income students.
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 1.5 million students who are probably eligible for Pell grants fail to apply each year. Critics say the difficult FAFSA form is to blame, that it scares off the neediest students.
Starting this summer, students can skip questions that don’t apply to them. For example, students who are married, or 24 years old or older may skip 11 questions about their parents, because they’re exempt from having to provide their parents’ financial information.
In other changes, students with low incomes won’t be asked for asset information, and only returning students will be asked about prior drug convictions.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan called on Congress to enact legislation that would let students and their families apply for financial aid needing only the information on their tax returns. Now we also need bank statements, investment information and documentation of untaxed income.
The government uses the FAFSA to calculate a student’s eligibility for financial aid, including Pell grants, student loans, and college work-study programs. Most colleges also require it as part of their financial aid application process.
The form has more than 150 questions on a student’s family income, savings and assets. The changes involve eliminating questions, providing quicker estimates and streamlining information from the Internal Revenue Service.
The changes are supposed to make it easier to apply for financial aid — and thereby increase college enrollment among low-income and middle income students.
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 1.5 million students who are probably eligible for Pell grants fail to apply each year. Critics say the difficult FAFSA form is to blame, that it scares off the neediest students.
Starting this summer, students can skip questions that don’t apply to them. For example, students who are married, or 24 years old or older may skip 11 questions about their parents, because they’re exempt from having to provide their parents’ financial information.
In other changes, students with low incomes won’t be asked for asset information, and only returning students will be asked about prior drug convictions.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan called on Congress to enact legislation that would let students and their families apply for financial aid needing only the information on their tax returns. Now we also need bank statements, investment information and documentation of untaxed income.
