FAFSA App

The pandemic relief legislation simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), reducing the form from 108 questions to about three dozen questions. Even as Congress simplified some aspects of the financial aid form and formula, it made other aspects more complicated. Congress also didn’t fix the disappearing asset protection allowance problem or provide a permanent fix to the FAFSA data sharing issue that affects private scholarship providers. The FAFSA Simplification Act was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, taking up 167 pages of the 5,593-page bill. The changes will be effective starting on July 1, 2023 for the 2023-2024 academic year. This will give the U.S. Department of Education time to implement the changes. Name Change The legislation replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with the Student Aid Index (SAI). This name change does not actually simplify anything. But, it addresses a concern that the EFC is a bit of a misnomer, misl...

 Lawmakers agreed to issue stimulus payments of $600 and distribute a federal unemployment benefit of $300 for 11 weeks — but that money will take time to start arriving. Another dose of relief is finally on the way for the millions of Americans facing financial distress because of the coronavirus pandemic. President Donald Trump on Sunday night signed an economic relief package that will provide a round of $600 stimulus payments to most Americans and partly restore the enhanced federal unemployment benefit, offering $300 for at least 10 weeks. The agreement also contains provisions related to student loans, rental assistance and medical bills. The legislation, which is 5,600 pages long, would provide welcome, albeit temporary, assistance to many. How quickly the money reaches your pocket will depend on several factors, though. Here's a closer look at what the legislative package will mean for you. Stimulus payments Q: Will I receive another stimulus payment? A: Individual adults w...

Among the many changes, it extends tax-free student loan payments by employers to employees and simplifies the FAFSA form. The $900 billion economic relief package passed by Congress includes several provisions that will benefit college students, their families and student loan borrowers, but it does not extend the moratorium on federal student loan payments beyond their Jan. 31, 2021 expiration date. A six-month moratorium on federal student loan payments was included in the mega $2.3 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed in March, and extended by the White House twice,. Now it leaves the decision to extend it further to incoming President-Elect Joe Biden. The latest economic relief legislation does extend another provision in the CARES Act to help student loan borrowers that otherwise would have expired at the end of this year: the provision allowing tax-exempt payments from employers to student loan borrowers up to a maximum $5,250. Employees do not have ...

This year's financial aid form lacks new accommodations for the pandemic but includes some simplifying changes. THE 2021-2022 FREE Application for Federal Student Aid, called the FAFSA, looks similar to last year's form, with some small tweaks. But the world around this crucial piece of the financial aid process has greatly changed as colleges and families seek to adapt to the pandemic. "FAFSA kept doing business as usual this year," says Amira Yahyaoui, CEO and founder of Mos, a company that created a single application for all federal and state financial aid but is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education. "We expected that because of the global pandemic, they would cater to that issue, but it has been completely ignored." The new FAFSA opened for applicants on Oct. 1. The form is required for students who wish to be considered for federal financial aid and is used by colleges and states to determine eligibility for many grants and scholarships...