FAFSA: The Key to Unlocking College Dreams For millions of students across the United States, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a crucial step toward getting into college. It’s the form that can mean the difference between attending the school of your dreams or struggling to find a way to pay for it. But how did this important form become such a big deal? Let’s take a look at the history of FAFSA, understand its current challenges, and see why it’s still so important for students today, even with the problems caused by the most recent updates.
even more accessible, especially for low- income families.
Recent Problems with FAFSA While FAFSA has been a vital resource, the 2024-2025 form was delayed until December 31, 2023, causing concern as students have less time to apply before deadlines. Technical issues with the updated system, like slowdowns and outages, have added to the frustration. Some also worry the simplified form may not gather enough financial information, potentially impacting low-income students. Looking Ahead: Improving FAFSA Despite these issues, FAFSA remains essential. Many colleges and universities extended deadlines and offered to work with students regardless of the aid given through FAFSA by offering their own institutional aid. Experts are calling for better communication and support to ensure students, especially those from low-income families, don’t miss out on aid. With improvements, FAFSA will likely continue to be a lifeline for students for years to come. Beacon’s Response to the FAFSA Fiasco Recognizing the frustration the new process was imparting on students, we sprang into action. Read on the next page about the FAFSA Summer Completion Project! Sources: The Federal Student Aid website (https://studentaid.gov/) & FAFSA Simplifiation Center (https://www.nasfaa.org/fafsa_simplification)
How FAFSA Came to Be FAFSA’s roots trace back to the 1960s, when the U.S. government sought to make college more accessible to all students, not just those who could afford it. This led to the Higher Education Act of 1965, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which aimed to make college more affordable. Before FAFSA, students had to navigate multiple financial aid forms for each college, which was confusing and time-consuming. In 1992, Congress introduced FAFSA as a single, simplified form to apply for federal grants, loans, and work- study programs. FAFSA Enters the New Age of Tech Originally, FAFSA was a lengthy paper form with over 100 questions, which had to be filled out by hand, leading to errors and delays. In 1997, it went digital, reducing mistakes and speeding up the process. A major update came in 2021 through the FAFSA Simplification Act, cutting the number of questions to under 50, making the form
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