FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

In a national address on Tuesday, President Obama spoke about making some important changes to the financial aid application (FAFSA), with the goal of making it easier for people to apply for financial aid. He called for plans to simplify the FAFSA form by reducing the number of data elements asked for on the application. He also said it could be simplified by corroborating with the information the IRS already has in regards to income (NO, they do not already do this).

Currently the FAFSA has over 100 questions on the application, and for a student that is applying without the help of parents this can be a pretty daunting feat. It also can be confusing for parents to fill out because it does ask for extensive details about income and assets. Records show that in 2008 there were about 10 million FAFSA applications filed. A recent changed that is already in effect makes it possible for students who have no contact with their parents to file an appeal through their school so that they can still file a FAFSA without their parents’ information.  This also works if the parents just refuse to release their information. For those who are unaware of the dependent v. independent status when it comes to financial aid, it may come as a surprise to you. The government views you as dependent if you are under the age of 24, and you are not married, you do not have a child, and you are not in the military. Even if you do not live with your parents, you live alone and work to support yourself, like a lot of young adults do, the FAFSA still requires your parents’ income information.

This recent change may make it easier for students to get that form filled out in these circumstances with the help of their financial aid officers at their schools. The simplification of the form and the change stated above should result in an increased number of FAFSA applications filed. …right? More FAFSAs filed typically means more students are applying to college, which is Obama’s ultimate goal. So while it can’t hurt to make the current FAFSA less confusing, what do you think about the way it is now? Is it that terrible that it is prohibiting people from filling it out? I want to hear what you guys think…

Points code: FAFSAWOES

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Let me first start off by saying that even if your credit is has been severely affected by credit card debt, or any other kind of debt….you can still file a FAFSA and receive a Stafford loan. Your FAFSA results are not affected by your credit history. Recently there was a post on forum that is specifically for students and parents who have questions about financial aid, that relates to this question:

credit card affecting my student loans

by patti on Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:31 am

i took out credit cards while i am a full time student. i borrowed way too much and now one of those cards is in default. my F.A. adviser said that i cannot get any more F.A. with this happening. if i enroll my cards in a credit counseling AKA debt management program will this in any way affect my ability to 1. get more student loans, since i have 2 more years of graduate school. 2. cause me to have to enroll my already low interest rate student loans into this debt management account. i need help now !! thank you

Re: credit card affecting my student loans

by Ms. Stafford on Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:23 am

Hi Patti, your credit and any credit card debt you may have in no way affects FEDERAL aid….which means you can still file the FAFSA and borrow federal loans. Your debt would affect your ability to get approved for private student loans. Can you afford school with just federal loans? How much is your tuition?

Re: credit card affecting my student loans

by patti on Sat Mar 07, 2009 11:20 am

ms stanford, i need the loans due to the high cost of private graduate school. the f.a. officer denied a budget increase for this term. she said that the school approved the increase but the federal people denied it based on my credit card debt being on collections. she told me that i would not be able to get Federal aid next year if this or any other debt is over due 60 days.can you refer me to a contact in the federal area to contact to resolve this?

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If you make less than $50,000 Adjusted Gross Income for tax year 2005, you may be eligible for the IRS “Free File” service, which is offered at the IRS web site, IRS.gov. One important thing to note: Free File is offered by a variety of commercial vendors, like H&R Block. One thing that is very likely as you’re going through the Free File service, should you choose to use it, is that you will be marketed to for virtually every add on service that the preparers offer, from insurance to guarantees to fast tax refund loans (often called advance tax refund or instant tax refund). These are the very worst of the lot, the equivalent of payday loans with annualized interest rates soaring as high as 1,700%.

Yes, you read that correctly. Interest rates as high as 1,700%. By taking advantage of Free File, chances are you will be able to file electronically, which means that you should have your refund in about 1 – 3 weeks anyway. If you can hold out, you can save yourself hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars in “refund loan” fees.