New FAFSA Forms Will Soon Be Available

It could soon be easier for college students to apply for financial aid.

In December of 2020, Congress passed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, which reduced the number of questions that applicants have to answer when applying for Federal Student Aid.

Past forms had 108 questions and the new forms will only have 36.

The new application forms are scheduled to be released on December 1st and the aid will be available at the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Sheridan College President Dr. Walter Tribley says it’s been about 40 years since any changes have been made to the FAFSA forms, and for some applicants, the old questions were sometimes a barrier.

“The farther away from being college savvy, having parents that went to college, and brothers and sisters that went to college, the farther away from that, like our first generation students and those people of color, people who are from lower social/economic situations have a disproportionately impact by that complexity.”

Among the questions that were removed include selective service registration, as well as issues related to drug related convictions.

Applicants will no longer have to dig up their tax return information and instead they can get that information from the IRS.

Those who are currently incarcerated in a federal or state prison and are enrolled in an approved prison education program, will be eligible to receive Pell Grants.