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President Obama Simplifies the FAFSA for You
By Kathryn Knight
June 24, 2009
In a statement today, the Obama Administration announced sweeping changes to the FAFSA. Families filling out the FAFSA will no longer have to go through such a painstaking process just to see if they qualify for aid. With the new changes, the online FAFSA will see a drop from 30 screens of questions to 10, according to CNN.
The goal, according to the press release issued today by the U.S. Department of Education, is to “increase postsecondary enrollment, particularly among low- and middle-income students” through a more simplified process. Some of these changes have been put into effect already while the rest will span out over the course of a few months, culminating in the January 1, 2010 release of the newer, simpler FAFSA.
Changes to the FAFSA, according to the U.S. Department of Education:
- Instant estimates of Pell Grant and student loan eligibility—went into effect May 2009.
- Skipping questions. If you’re 24 or married, you can skip questions about your parents’ finances. Or if you’re a male over 26, you can pass over questions regarding Selective Service Registration—this change will be made throughout the summer.
- Elimination of 25 financial questions. The FAFSA will ask only financial questions that the IRS asks when citizens are filing their taxes—will go into effect in January.
According to The New York Times, an estimated 1.5 million students do not fill out the FAFSA each school year because of its intricacies. With these changes put in place by the Obama administration, the FAFSA will not only be less daunting but will also enable students to continue their education by making the most important financial aid application easier to understand and thereby complete.
To access the U.S. Department of Education’s press release on the new FAFSA as well as more plans from the Obama Administration’s Agenda for College Affordability, click here.
JanetD74
4 months ago
Why doesn't the FAFSA allow parents to identify debt? I have 5 children. 2 have graduated. My wife and I have large college loan debts we are paying on and there are 3 more children. The FAFSA doesn't allow a family to show and identify debt. It looks like we have a large income between my wife and I and FAFSA says we can afford to contribute a large amount. But what we can't show is a large college loan debt. So we really do not have that much to contribute. We are trying to pay off this debt but can't afford to pay for more college loans.
JosephA664
4 months ago
I hope one of the changes is a later deadline. As a self-employed individual, I never have my taxes done in time to meet the March 1 date and as a result have to do it twice every year. Four times this year with two kids in college. Painful.
HollyA190
4 months ago
Thank you -- its about time.
AmandaL962
4 months ago
Despite the headline, President Obama did not do this.
rrafiringa
4 months ago
For those who worry about free money given to illegal people, I say get your heads out of your behinds. Many illegals I met only wish they had the papers to have a shot at a decent life, even if that means paying taxes and going through your "pains". I have never heard of free money given to illegals. I heard the same type of comments in areas inhabited mostly by people who have the following common traits:
# White
# Lower middle class or poor
# Right wing conservative
# Watching Fox News
# Listening to Limbaugh
Basically people who seem to have a chip on their shoulder against anything that isn't like them, and have no inclination to find out the real source of their frustration, preferring to direct it at the easy targets like illegal immigrants, at a barely veiled biased hint from some big mouth entertainer with decent media coverage.
If you really want to have a solid opinion, get information from all sides and then draw your conclusions. If you are unable to do that, I swear you don't even deserve to have a well paid job, as you are incapable of critical thinking.
NathanO138
4 months ago
Now all that's needed is a high paying job to cover all of those student loans.
AdriannaB54
4 months ago
This is awesome!
DaveK57
4 months ago
Stop whining! Filling out the FAFSA form was not that difficult. It took me about 20 minutes to teach my son how to do his. I have three in college and they now know how to fill out their own forms. For those of you who are stressed by the FAFSA form; try doing your own taxes. Then you have grounds to complain.
AllenJordanP
4 months ago
so far that is the only thing Obama has done that will benefit me and my family.
KathrynH671
4 months ago
New form has only one question: Did you vote for me? Yes? you get federal aid, no, you don't. LOL
LaurenB2597
4 months ago
People in the middle class are just stuck and have to pay these high cost of expenses of college. Why can't there be more available for this class as it is the lower class? I always hated filling out this form b/c it was so so so long. Thanks for making the form shorter now just find money to help the middle class!!
TonyaN17
4 months ago
Why couldn't he have done this like three months ago?? I just had just filled out my FASFA about three days ago and it was a major headache like always. :P Course my university tells me that this upcoming year will be my last year to get aid of any kind. So i won't probably be able to finish out my education after putting in about 5 years. :( Oh well thats the breaks for this american.
MeganF660
4 months ago
Thanks Mr. Prez. Hopefully more will use this process.
BrandenK13
4 months ago
To Chelsea0111 - It makes a lot of sense. Illegal people should not be getting free money from the US. They should not even be here let alone getting free money from the American tax payers.
MichelleG1378
4 months ago
Why would we offer free money to illegal people when legal hard-working citizens can't even get money for their children's education? You do not reward someone who is breaking the law by giving them money. That is just wrong. Shorter FASA forms, however, GREAT NEWS!