Federal Financial Aid Form Changing - Is the red tape going away? What you need to know

The FAFSA simplification act is designed to offer a simpler interface for students and parents. Applicants can bypass up to 26 non-essential questions with some applicants able to complete the form in less than 20 minutes - so the Federal Government says. Let's answer some of your questions.

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When will the FAFSA become available? For past years, I had access to the form in October.

The FAFSA form is guaranteed to be available by December 31st.

What are some of the bigger changes to the form?

• The number of questions is reduced.

• Tax information can be easily transferred from the IRS and the majority of the financial data is from the parents tax forms from two years prior.

• Students can list up to 20 colleges; the prior form allowed for 10.

• The sibling discount is eliminated.

My state requires the FAFSA completion to be considered for state aid, with the FAFSA releasing later, will states provide an extension?

The FAFSA federal deadline is June 30th. Each college may have their own deadline and state deadlines differ. Be sure to contact each school and state financial aid office if you have questions. You can see state deadlines here.

The terminology is changing, what do I need to know?

• SAI: Student Aid Index(SAI) will replace the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) as a formal evaluation of a student’s approximate financial resources to contribute toward post-secondary education for a specific award year.

• FAFSA Submission Summary: Replaces the Student Aid Report (SAR) as the student’s output document providing a summary of data input on the FAFSA form.

• Food and Housing: Replaces the terms “room and board” for financial aid purposes ONLY within a student’s cost of attendance. University terminology with remain the same.

• Family Size: Replaces the term household size on the FAFSA form.

Remember, completing the FAFSA form is not only for federal and state grants based on reported income. Providing financial information is the gateway to receiving subsidized and unsubsidized student loans and some schools ask for the FAFSA to be submitted before offering academic merit scholarships.