On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, proposed that the federal government make some long-overdue changes to the Federal Application for Student Assistance (FAFSA)–the 145-question long form that many of you know and hate.
At the event, which was held at Harvard, Secretary Spellings actually waved all ten pages of the current FAFSA form in the air and announced that “It’s red tape like this that keeps 40 percent of college students from even applying for aid — that’s eight million students. And we believe most would have been eligible for assistance.”
I know, I know, you’re probably thinking that all this talk about financial aid forms is about as interesting as reading through the tax code. But these simple changes really do impact millions of students in tough times.
The new FAFSA form that Spellings talked about would include only 27 questions and fit on two measly pages! It will also provide “real time information” for families so that they don’t have to wait to find out how much the federal government will actually contribute towards helping them send their children to college.
The only problem is that, according to U.S. News and World Report, Americans are going to have to wait a while to see any of these changes. The Department of Education has already drafted this year’s FAFSA and it’s seven questions longer than last year! To make matters worse, Congress just added new requirements for future questions!
Experts have been calling for the fed to make changes to the FAFSA for years now (one high-quality study even showed that simplifying the FAFSA would save $2 billion and encourage more students to complete postsecondary degrees!!).
Just so you know: Barack Obama has proposed allowing families to just check a box on their federal income tax returns to see if they qualify for financial aid.
My adviser, Professor Bridget Terry Long, did a little Q and A on the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s website in response to Secretary Spelling’s proposed changes. Check out her answers to some of thorny questions about Spellings’ plan.
Everyone knows that college costs are a problem. Simplifying the process of applying for aid is one small thing that we can do to ease the burden on students and families.