| Every year, students and parents across the country | | | | applicant's most recent income tax information. This |
| dread completing the Free Application for Federal | | | | means that instead of effectively filling out your taxes |
| Student Aid, or FAFSA - but the form's reputation for | | | | twice, the one required IRS submission can |
| complexity and difficulty is outdated. There was once | | | | automatically be used for your financial aid request. |
| a time when the FAFSA consisted of dozens of | | | | Also, since the data is completed digitally, all the |
| paper forms and made doing taxes look simple, but | | | | calculations are instantly performed with computerized |
| the administration of this application has been greatly | | | | accuracy. |
| improved since then. Just being able to complete the | | | | In addition to the merger of data between federal |
| application has been making the process easier and | | | | branches, the website of the application has been |
| more accurate, but new changes implemented by the | | | | designed to help students focus on the parts of the |
| Obama administration will make this year's application | | | | questionnaire that are required and relevant to the |
| the quickest ever. | | | | individual's situation. A third improvement is that are |
| Students and parents applying for federal financial aid | | | | simply fewer questions. Instead of trying to completely |
| funds for the 2010-2011 academic year will find a new | | | | understand every minor detail of a student's financial |
| online form that saves significant amounts of time and | | | | history and their family's home value, stock portfolio, |
| effort. The hope is that an easier application will | | | | and other assets, a more generalized form will focus |
| encourage more students to find out what kind of | | | | on fundamental measures of income and net worth. |
| financial aid is available for them and take advantage | | | | Some students who were not eligible last year may |
| of this opportunity to further their education with public | | | | even become eligible for aid now because of this |
| assistance. Recently, more than a million students have | | | | switch. |
| failed to apply for federal financial aid despite being | | | | Not only is the FAFSA process easier than ever, |
| eligible for free money and help. While many of the | | | | recent legislation is even increasing the amount |
| students counted in these numbers do go on to enroll | | | | available in grants and reducing the interest rates |
| in college and earn degrees, they end up graduating | | | | students have to pay on loans. With all these things |
| with more debt than they needed to take on. | | | | considered, students and parents really have no |
| A major change that many may notice is that the | | | | excuses left when it comes to applying for federal |
| FAFSA application is able to directly access the | | | | financial aid through the FAFSA program! |