A Spot of Blue Sky…
Posted on 09. Jul, 2009 by John.
As I leap—unprotected and unprepared—into the world of college applications, I keep catching hints from previous survivors of the process about the dreaded FAFSA form, otherwise known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. I hear it’s not a lot of fun.
Fortunately, Arne Duncan is here to help:
“Education Secretary Arne Duncan is expected to announce today [June 24th] an effort to streamline the complicated process of applying for federal financial aid for college.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which includes more than 100 questions about income and assets, is so difficult that some parents pay private companies to fill it out for them or just give up. By Education Department estimates, about 1.5 million students would probably be eligible for Pell grants — which are for low-income families — but do not apply.
The federal government collects much of the same information on tax forms. In a pilot program that begins in January, students who apply for aid for the spring semester will be able to get their tax data from the Internal Revenue Service online so they can more easily complete the application. That option eventually may be expanded to all students.”
Unfortunately, I will be on my own this summer because this streamlining first applies to students applying in the spring. In future years, hopefully it won’t be so difficult to fill out. The article also talks about future efforts to cut out unnecessary questions and qualifications, although the article doesn’t specify exactly what would be removed. Additionally, these larger changes would require congressional approval. Darn.
Yet, it is important to note that this is a spot of blue sky for higher education in the midst of so much grey. Yes, our recession has already caused some colleges and universities to reduce socioeconomic diversity in order to afford financial aid, as was mentioned in a previous post. But here, the federal government is taking steps to increase college accessibility by streamlining one of the processes most limiting to admission in post-secondary education—paying for it! It is nice to see not only Secretary Duncan, but also the general government noticing and substantively working on the problems associated with higher education. This is an encouraging step in the right direction.
Now if only Seattle weather would take its cues from Arne Duncan… We could use a spot of blue sky.
