Another Plan to Simplify Financial Aid Forms

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What I'm hearing from the last few comments is essentially "the poor get everything and I get nothing." Believe me, you don't want to trade places, no matter how much financial aid they get. Ask yourself, when you were growing up, how many cars did your parents buy? TV's, DVD players, Christmas presents, new clothes? Do they own their own home, or are they at the mercy of a landlord? How many people do you know who can help you in a financial crisis - parents, grandparents, neighbors, friends? How many times did you go without a meal? Worry about not having a place to live? Worry about your personal safety? How many of your immediate relatives are incarcerated? Were you ever in foster care? Chances are you are more advantaged than you think. Also, don't you think it's worthwhile to educate the disadvantaged? Education can break cycles of poverty and dependency. No child chooses to grow up in a home that is "just constantly getting that welfare check and those food stamps," (to quote Nathalie of FL). If a student from that environment manages to become a contributing, taxpaying and wealth generating citizen, don't you think it's a good investment to spend some Federal Student Aid dollars to make it happen?
Don't cry "not fair" because you were lucky enough to be born into the American middle class. That's just shameful.

Dave of CA 2:26PM October 24, 2008

The government (as well as colleges) seem to have the WRONG idea as to who can afford to pay college. Just because my parents are not constantly getting that welfare check and those food stamps doesn't mean I can actually PAY for college. The government is wrong, colleges are wrong, and I hate the fact that no one is doing anything IMPORTANT to fix this! I'm currently in college, and I am as concerned as ever about my future in college, because I'm currently finishing up at my local community college. I'm concerned because, now that I'm finishing here, what will become of me at the next level, especially with the financial turmoil going on right now? Will I even be able to at least get a loan, if it comes to the worst situation?

Nathalie of FL 10:08PM October 05, 2008

Kathy is exactly right. If you're poor, you get all the free money you could possibly want. If you're rich, you already have all the money you need or want. But if you're in that nice medium called middle class you get screwed right out of your socks. Loans on top of loans on top of loans. Instead of help those who actually need it most, we get f'd over. It's a screwed up system in the fact that you get aid based upon YOUR PARENTS income, not your own. I'm 19 and I don't make much money, so why can't I get fin aid? Because my PARENTS make "too much". What law makes my parents pay for my schooling? Huh? There isn't one. Exactly my point. It should be based off of the STUDENT, not the parent. For anyone who thinks that's ludacris, try paying for school when you make 4,000 a year then come holla at cha boy. Kathy you know what's going down.
Peace

College Studen of TX 9:31PM October 05, 2008

The problem I see with the FAFSA is although it uses the information off of the federal income taxes, it is still not getting the true picture of a persons financial standings. You have people who report on the FAFSA that they have absolutely nothing at all but are able to provide support for multiplie people. When additional questions are asked by the school it is common that they are able to survive through assistance from government programs. None the less it is a form of income for them and I feel it should be considered. Yet they are able to get by without claiming any of it and receive even more free money to help them go to school.
Then we have the upper class/rich who manage to find tax deductions/loopholes that allow them to report negative to extremely low earnings which allows them to receive free aid to help them go to school.
I also don't understand the option to reduce a household's adjusted gross income because of tuition for a private school for a sibling(s)to attend. If they choose to send their child to a private elementary or high school that charges tuition rather then sending them to a public school system it should not be something they can use to reduce their adjusted gross income. It's a choice, something that they do have control over, unlike unemployment or excessive medical bills.
I believe the middle class is getting the raw end of the deal. Most make just enough to put them over the free aid eligibility but not enough to take advantage of the tax deduction/loopholes. There is a serious problem with the FAFSA and how it determines a person's financial need. It is a problem that may be better resolved if those designing it came from a diverse group of income levels. Together their differences could better determine what should be asked and what can be left off. Having the same people redesign the FAFSA who created these tax loopholes or laws that make it more advantageous for people to stay on government programs doesn't seem to be the sensible thing to do, especially concerning the middle class population.
Now that the "No Child Left Behind" is in place, maybe free aid should be based simply off of a person's academic abilities.

Lisa Smith of MO 6:40PM October 05, 2008

It's not enough to point out how easy most individual questions on the FAFSA might be or the psychological reasons why people "think" it's complicated, the bottom line is that for students/parents not very savvy at providing lots of information, perhaps not used to forms such as these because they're too poor to file a 1040, or if English isn't their first language, the FAFSA is confusing at best (as evidenced by the initial error rate) and an intimidating obstacle to college at worst. In short, those who need the help the most (and who are afraid to ask for help out of fear that doing so identifies them as not deserving of nor ready for a college education) have a very difficult time with this form and often walk away from it.
And while after 25 years in the business I'm fully aware of all of the nuances required by our current mode of thinking to assess need, the complexity of the form and formula has led to a booming cottage industry of "consultants" who show families how to hide their money to avoid reporting it on the FAFSA. So the important, detailed "nitty gritty" that need analysis junkies crave is often filtered through a shell game; rental properties morph into "small businesses," savings are hidden in a sibling's or grandparent's name, single premium life insurance policies, etc.
Bottom line, it's easier for a business to borrow millions from the government than it is for an 18-year-old poor kid to get a Pell Grant, and that's wrong. It's time to make Congress realize that their laws that sound good have created this mess.

David Sheridan of NJ 1:34PM October 03, 2008

Each year congress makes statements about making it easier, but each year they pass new laws creating terribly complex programs. They have gone from 7 questions to determine dependency status to 13! 3 of these questions are incredibly complex about the student being homeless.
I may be missing something here, but last time I checked there was a huge industry devoted to preparing taxes. I work in financial aid and I get sick to my stomach seeing what some of my students pay to have a 1040 EZ prepared.
Most of the questions asked on the FAFSA are very easy. Half of them are demographic identifiers. People think the FAFSA is terrible because everyone tells them it is. If people look at the questions one at a time, instead of all of them at once, the form is pretty manageable.
PS Kathy, you may not have noticed it, but no where on the FAFSA does it ask you your race.

Ted of 12:40PM October 03, 2008

It is not so much the LENGTH of the form, but the obvious tilt of the questions! It is geared to deny the middle class outright or drive them into loans. The "poor" get the free money. The rich, obviously, should get none.
It is ludicrous to base an upcoming year on the previous. Most Americans are worse off than last year. Every dollars from last year was spent on such trivial items as eating or gas to go to work or the roofs over their heads! Others are laid off now. And the gross amount? Do all of you get to spend your gross wage?
Most of the FAFSA is copying your tax return. This should eliminate "verification" for the supposed 1/3 who get selected(which are exactly whom, by income, race, small business or not?). Otherwise does nothing much. Also, will not help the grueling marathon of the CSS Profile which some of us must do.
Lastly, those making barely middle class wages got screwed the worst. They got more loans this year. When will they learn? Screw the middle class & the whole ship sinks!

kathy of IL 10:44AM October 03, 2008

Does no one realize that the Congress dictates the questions that must appear on the FAFSA? FAFSA simplification has been an issue for at least the 30 years I have been in this business. Long before it was the FAFSA. If a simplified application is to become a reality, the law specifying what goes on the application must change.
Using IRS data has long been a powerful suggestion for increased accuracy and reduction in fraud, waste, and abuse.
Using IRS data could result in significant reduction in burden on the applicants and still provide the "nitty gritty" details that are needed to target limited aid to those who need it most.
However, until someone can change the laws it cannot happen. It is fine that the Secretary of Education can stand up and say what she would do, but the fact of the matter is that she can do little without having the necessary statutory changes.

Steve Wingard of PA 9:21AM October 03, 2008