Last week, Dr. Jill Biden blogged about the newly-updated FAFSA form in the White House Blog. The Second Lady and former teacher felt that it was “great to see how the current forms have fewer questions, easier navigation and are more user-friendly” (Read her post here).
The new online form utilizes “skip-logic,” cutting out unnecessary questions and expediting the process. Furthermore, sections are now color-coded to designate whether they are meant for parents or students. And beginning sometime this summer, families will be able to take advantage of an “auto-complete” feature, which will preload the form with financial info from their IRS tax returns.
According to this USA Today article, an estimated 1.5 million low-income students don’t apply for federal aid despite being eligible, likely due to the daunting process of filling out the FAFSA. Hopefully, this revamped FAFSA succeeds in making it easier for every student to get the financial aid they deserve.
Get a head start on completing your FAFSA for the 2010-11 academic year using the new form, then report back here to GetSchooled and give us your thoughts!
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