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BY Joe Nelson
PUBLISHED: 09/30/2008
Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form every year may soon be a thing of the past if a new proposal gains enough support.
A report published by the College Board last week called for the elimination of FAFSA as well as a new loan repayment plan.
The report was drafted by the Rethinking Student Aid study group, consisting of policy experts, researchers and higher education professionals who were put together by the College Board, a nonprofit organization specializing in college admissions, financial aid and enrollment.
Kathleen Little, College Board senior advisor of student aid policy , said by eliminating the FAFSA, the application process could be much simpler.
According to the report, the new plan would collect students’ information directly from the Internal Revenue Service. Aid would be determined only by adjusted gross income and family size.
Applicants would only have to send in their name and address and sign a release to the IRS instead of filling out the multi-section FAFSA documents.
The IRS would have to transmit the tax information to the U.S. Department of Education , who would determine Pell grant eligibility, Little said. That information would then be shared with respective states for state grants.
A law would need to pass for the changes to be made, however — something that could take years.
Steven Moon, a business and marketing education junior, said having the IRS transmit financial information would make things easier.
“They have all the information, so they won’t make errors or anything,” Moon said. “If they make a mistake, we can blame them.”
Kris Wright , director of the University’s Office of Student Finance , said she sees some potential problems to the plan, however.
She said the difficulty with the new program comes when something happens to a family within the year and there will still need to be a process for adjusting funds during the year.
“If the student feels that there is something that is not reflected in last year’s tax return, for example a job loss, you can come in and talk to us about that,” Wright said.
She said she thought that kind of flexibility might not be available with the new program.
Wright said she also recognizes problems with the current FAFSA.
“Low income families can find it very intimidating to fill out,” she said.
The College Board report also called for a loan repayment plan that would be proportional to the student’s post-graduation income.
Wright said she thinks more students will depend on aid in the future, which could lead to potential problems for students paying back loans. Graduating in four years, she said, is most important in minimizing students’ debt. She also recommended careful spending.
“Live like a student now so you don’t have to live like a student after you graduate,” she said.
2 Comments
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Agreeing with Kris Wright and Question to College Board
What about students who haven't worked in their freshman year or senior year of high school? How would the new financial aid system operate in terms of the new college student?
What about students who don't get any help from parents in their freshman year of college?
How would the new system work in regards to the above matters?
This gives me hope, but I'm on the verge of giving up.
I am 22 years old and currently living in New Mexico as of 8 months ago. My hometown is Greenville, SC, to which I am moving back to in June to try and enroll in the nursing program at a local technical college. I have been trying to get a degree for the past 4 years. I believe I am still a transferring sophomore, because I cannot afford to pay for school. I have been supporting myself for the past 2 years and each semester when it comes time to fill out my FAFSA, I prepare for the most stressful part of my entire year. My parents have been divorced for about 7 years and my mother is remarried. Her new husband, whom I hardly know, does not divulge his finances to my mother, nor would he even imagine to give up that information to me for my FAFSA. This puts me in a gut-wrenchingly stressful situation. I honestly feel discriminated against. I usually cannot use my father's tax information because he always files an extension and by the time he does his taxes, if he even does (he got audited by the IRS this year) it would be too late. I have spoken with FAFSA help over the phone numerous times pleading my case and no one seems to hear or want to listen. It frusterating beyond words that I should have to list my parents financial information when I am a grown adult fully supporting herself--and they would attest to this! My father even mentioned sueing the governement for a violation of civil rights. This year I had to project my father's income even though he has not filed his taxes yet in order to fill my FAFSA out. (because I could not use my mother's information, since I do not know her husband's finances) My prospective school sent me an email stating that I now need to send a signed copy of my father's taxes and W-2 forms, which he has not even filed yet! So now I might have given up the chance of being accepted for this coming fall because I must wait on my father to come up with the money he needs to pay his CPA to file his taxes and then get the results. By that time their programs are likely to be filled up. And as a student wanting nothing more than to be enrolled full time in school, I feel there is nothing more I can do but wait for the day that I turn 24.
I should also mention that I am paying for my education entirely myself and am not beggin for government money. I am fully prepared to take out my thousands of dollars in student loans, but now because of FAFSA I might not even have the opportunity for school this fall semester.
I have been running into the same brick wall for four years now (two of which I have been a dependant, not claimed on either parents' taxes, and self supporting) Is there any way of getting my story out there and having something done about this? I know I am not the only one.
If there is any information or resources that might be useful to me, I would appreciate that so much.
-Shari
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