The college financial aid application is getting simplified, but the new form won’t be released until the end of the year — well after the normal application start date
BY: AMELIA FERRELL KNISELY – DECEMBER 19, 2023 6:00 AM
A significant delay in the rollout of a new college financial aid application, known as the FAFSA, has prompted West Virginia’s higher education leaders to ensure students have enough time to apply for financial aid.
High school seniors and college students must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to be considered for federal financial aid.
The form is currently undergoing a top-to-bottom overhaul — its first massive revamp in more than 40 years — in an effort to streamline the process. The changes are supposed to result in more students being eligible for financial aid, especially low-income students.
Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020, but the process has missed several proposed rollout dates and now must go live by Jan. 1.
State Higher Education Chancellor Sarah Tucker told lawmakers last week that because of the delays, they haven’t been able to help high school guidance counselors learn about the new form in order to help families preparing for college. West Virginia has one of the nation’s highest rates of first-generation college students.
The FAFSA typically opened on Oct. 1 for high school seniors to fill out the application. The late rollout could delay delivery of financial aid packages and shorten families’ college decision-making timeframe.
“My gut tells me that your constituents will start calling you about this once this rolls out in January,” Tucker told lawmakers during December interim meetings. “I think this year is going to be rough.”
In response to the delay, the HEPC voted
EditSign last week to extend the deadlines for applying for the Promise Scholarship and state Higher Education Grant until May 1. The deadline was March 1.
The previous FAFSA form had well over 100 questions, and Tucker noted that finding required financial documents was especially challenging for children in the foster care system or grandparents raising grandchildren.
The new form will have around 18 questions and should take around 10 minutes to complete.
Students and parents will now have the ability to link their IRS tax information to the FAFSA form, Tucker said.
The HEPC has scheduled more than 50 FAFSA workshops across the state and is available to provide more as needed. They’ll also share the updated application form once it’s available.
“We’re going to push it out as fast as we can all across the state,” Tucker said.
“Next year, we are going to have more students qualify for maximum Pell [Grants] and it’s going to be better for parents,” she added.
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https://westvirginiawatch.com/2023/12/19/national-delay-to-new-fafsa-form-to-impact-west-virginia-students/