Web exclusive: Obama administration calls for smaller question set on FAFSA

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Students who panic at the thought of answering more than 100 questions on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, might feel more relaxed after changes to make the process simpler were announced June 24.

President Barack Obama’s administration announced changes to the applications, which will affect the more than 25,000 MSU students who file FAFSAs each year.

Shorter online applications will result as part of the changes. Legislation to remove some questions dealing with personal financial assets and a new Web application allowing students to use data from the International Revenue Service to answer financial questions also were announced. Students will see some changes as soon as this summer, with more to come in the next few months.

“(The goal is) to make it shorter, easier and simpler,” said David Thomas, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education.

Students who have filed FAFSAs remember a long and complicated process.

“I always tried to have my dad help me with it,” psychology graduate student Jennifer Schnupp said. “He’s a financial person as a career and he would still get lost in the mix of numbers and questions.”

Officials at the MSU Office of Financial Aid expect fewer errors on the applications and hope filing will become easier for students and their parents.

“To reduce or eliminate some of the asset questions … that certainly will help again with accuracy,” said Val Meyers, associate director of the Office of Financial Aid.

However, the removal of these questions might distort some students’ eligibility, Meyers said.

“Some people have large amounts of assets,” she said. “If they remove the asset question, people will perhaps look more eligible than they are.”

Streamlining the application is a step in the right direction, state Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, said.

“Especially at a time when so many students and families are struggling … the system needs to do what it can to make (applying) as easy as possible,” she said.
Those who are first-time filers might find the changes helpful, Meyers said.

“A lot of first-generation students … they find it quite confusing,” she said.

Students using the online application might experience changes this summer as user navigation is simplified.

“They have been encouraging people to move to the online (application) and I would say successfully because most of our MSU students do file online,” Meyers said.

Some students said the application took more than an hour to complete and a shorter version would be helpful.

“It’s like a test,” MSU alumna Sandra Troxell said. “After a while, you just lose concentration.”

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