Same Form, Less Daunting

Filling out financial aid forms doesn’t typically fall at the top of the fun list, but fortunately the Department of Education is working to make a key one a lot less painful.

On Wednesday, the DOE announced a plan to make the dreaded Fafsa form a whole lot shorter. This is welcome news to prospective college students and parents nationwide, who often collectively groaned about the level of detail the form required.

"The Fafsa improvements will reduce the burden on the 16 million students and families who apply for federal financial aid every year and are designed to help increase college enrollment among low-income and middle-income students by making it easier to apply for financial aid," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told the The New York Times.

The Fafsa, otherwise known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is a necessary form for any student interested in federal and state financial aid including Pell grants, Stafford loans, Perkins loans, work-study programs. The DOE aims to shave off about 20 percent of the form's questions and is working to get a system in place by January that will allow families to automatically fill in the financial data they have already filed with the Internal Revenue Service as part of their tax returns. Some aspects of the DOE Fafsa proposal will need Congressional approval.

Government officials estimate that 1.5 million students eligible for Pell grants did not apply last year, likely in part because the form appeared too daunting to complete. Federal authorities hope the new form will encourage more low-income families to consider college.

“Confusing paperwork shouldn’t stand between qualified students and a college degree,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. “Secretary Duncan has put forth common-sense proposals for streamlining the Fafsa.”

Less paperwork and more potential college grads? Kudos to the DOE for trying to cut the red tape.