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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.
Etnoid
4 months ago
That's awesome!
RichardL207
4 months ago
out standing for rasa i used this and need to reapply again.
DeseriaW3
4 months ago
Yeah! that may be good but what about me who still owes summer tuition or zi might not get into school for the fall 2009 and I don't want to be left behind. I am not on public assistance, welfare, food stamps or medicaid my mom is all I have to get me through school!
jakeniles
4 months ago
I agree with MarcusG58. The rest of the family has to survive while the one student is in college. My children are 15, 16, 17 and 22. The 22 year old was easy because she was a stand alone and the others were not even considering a particular college or career. Now I have a Freshman, Junior and Senior and am trying to figure this out because we too are told we make too much money for FAFSA. Thoroughly Discouraged!
MarcusG58
4 months ago
I haven't been able to understand why such programs Pell Grant, Reduced meals etc. considers a parents gross income as though they have no morgage payments, car payments, loans, college costs etc., My husband and I have been eliminated from receiving help because they say we make too much money. Feeding a family of 5 while maintaining bills, school cost and college costs can be a terrible strain on a family. Mrs. Garris
lilmom
4 months ago
My husband and I have been undergoing financial hardships for years, but we still want our children to obtain a higher education so their opportunities will be brighter. A more simplified FAFSA is a blessing!
EzebuiroAnyatonwuI
4 months ago
my name is ezebuiro anyatonwu iheanyichukwu a student of babcock university in ogun state nigeria iam very happy ffor such a financial aid.
SharaC4
4 months ago
A great plus for the any person wanting to complete their education regardless of age.
MichelleT371
4 months ago
the goverment needs to look and see if the students have to pay on their own or if mom and dad are helping... I'm not getting any help paying for college from my parents but since they make too much for me to get financial aid from anything really, I'm out of luck to continue getting a college education this up coming semester cause of the economy; I can't get a job and i can't get any financial aid..
macaroni436
4 months ago
i think the government needs to re address the definition of"minority" i am a middle age white male, barely getting by, my wife makes ok money but not great, those of us that stick to the rules are contribute to the economy/community and are trying to get ahead in life get nothing, people get rewarded for doing nothing and having kids out of wedlock, dont get me started!!! can i get assistance with school, cani f$#$!!
JennyA129
4 months ago
It wasn't really that difficult, just time consuming. But if someone can make it easier, that is great. It will give people more time for other financial aid paper work.
MargaretB329
4 months ago
That's great that the process is streamlined, that means more people can apply. Of course, just because you apply doesn't mean you will get any aid at all. This is great, but it's bittersweet for me. I fill it out every year and to this day I still have not gotten a single peice of aid from the FAFSA. I would rather see Obama increase the amount of aid he gives to upper-level students than just streamlining the application process.
MartinN84
4 months ago
Wow. I'm so glad they're going to simplify that process. Last year, it was very daunting to fill it out.
AimeeG6
4 months ago
TRhanks for the article
JasmineG680
4 months ago
Well, it is always nice to know. Thanks for the article Kathyrn!