TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Education released new details about the new FAFSA.
The update states that the changes to the FAFSA form represent the most ambitious and significant redesign of the processes to apply for federal aid and the formulas used to determine eligibility since the Reagan era.
According to officials, it’s being designed to make it easier for students to get money for college and is supposed to streamline and shorten the application process.
For the first time, applicants will be able to connect the form to the IRS to transfer tax information for eligibility requirements.
“Not only will that help you complete it faster, but it will also mean you’re less likely to make errors,” said Jennifer Finetti, Director of Student Advocacy for ScholarshipOwl.
However, the new FAFSA is more than just a form; the redesign will have updates to student aid calculations as well, which extend federal Pell Grants to more students.
The U.S. Department of Education just shared that Pell Grant eligibility will now be linked to family size and the federal poverty level to expand aid access.
With the new form, 610,000 more students from low-income backgrounds will receive some aid from Pell Grants.
One and a half million more students will be able to access the maximum Pell Grant amount.
New numbers show that in Florida, that means 44,810 more students will be eligible for Pell Grants, and 113,245 more students will qualify to receive the maximum Pell award.
Another big change to funding is that for any families with more than one student in college at the same time, it will no longer be considered a benefit in terms of getting more funding, so it’s likely they’ll get less aid than before.
“So for those families, especially middle-income and upper-income families, it may be harder to qualify for federal or state grants going forward,” said Finetti.
College students and families will be able to compete and submit FAFSA forms online by December 31.
Officials expect applications to peak in late January.
Schools will begin receiving aid eligibility information by the end of January.
