You wouldn’t have to spend countless hours filling out the 108-question Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) – or hire a buttload of college administrators to process them – under a bill introduced by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo).
Writing in The New York Times, the duo says their postcard-sized two-question FAFSA would result in an average $54 change in the amount of aid a student gets:
While the number of family members in college was important in the Fafsa methodology, according to the new eligibility test, family size alone is sufficient. The measure of household income proposed is “adjusted gross income” (that is, a family’s pretax income) for the tax year before last; using prior-year numbers means that families can get information a year in advance about what they will receive in federal aid. …
Professors Dynarski and Scott-Clayton estimate that eliminating the current application form would save students’ families almost 100 million hours a year — equivalent of nearly 50,000 full-time jobs.
They would also simplify the options available to students:
Students could use their federal Pell Grant year-round. That means graduating more quickly, saving time and money. Third, our bill would simplify the federal grant and loan programs: one loan program for undergraduates; one loan program for graduates; one loan program for parents who are paying for their kids’ college education.
It would also simplify the programs students may use to repay their federal loans by providing only two repayment options: an income-based plan and the standard 10-year plan. Finally, our bill would address the problem of students’ borrowing more than they need. For example, a part-time student would be able to take out only a part-time loan.
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