Filling out FAFSA can be daunting, though the benefits it may reap are great. To ease some of these struggles, Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act. Though passed in 2020, the effects of this act are set to be enacted on December 1st, 2023, and concerns students who wish to attend university in the 2024–2025 school year.
Eligibility requirements were the first, and most prevalent, subject of change. Past FAFSA forms would have had a controversial requirement; students had to register for Selective Service if they wished to receive federal aid. In the instance of a war or conflict in which existing U.S. Army forces would be insufficient, those who signed up for Selective Service would essentially be drafted. Understandably, this requirement was eliminated. Furthermore, certain criminal convictions, specifically those related to drugs, will no longer be a setback for those wishing to receive financial aid, as applications no longer make inquiries on that subject. Those who have previously been incarcerated also will maintain eligibility for Pell Grants if they have been enrolled in an approved prison education program. Moreover, to ensure that the FAFSA process is easier, applicants will soon be able to directly pull tax information from the IRS, as opposed to using tax return evidence.
The Student Aid Index is described as a measurement of a family’s ability to pay for college. Typically, the SAI considers the number of family members currently enrolled in college when calculating the Expected Family Contributions. The FAFSA Simplification Act has made this feature obsolete, focusing solely on the applicant as opposed to their family members. The SAI, when subtracted from the cost of college attendance, can assist in assessing how much money each student should be provided. Currently, it is possible for a Student Aid Index to be calculated in a negative amount. When the lowest possible SAI was 0, administrators were left with a large amount of people who had $0 for their Expected Family Contributions, making it difficult to distinguish which students are in more desperate need of federal aid. This new opportunity allows for a more accurate representation of which students should be prioritized when giving out aid. It is the hopes of FAFSA administrators that these alterations will serve to ease the application process, and maximize potential benefits received by FAFSA.
Works Cited
McNair, Kamaron. “The FAFSA Is Getting a Makeover Later This Year-Here’s What’s Changing.” CNBC, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2023, www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/04/11/fafsa-changes.html.
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