White House proposes simpler FAFSA

We're excited to hear about President Obama's proposal for simplifying the FAFSA. The FAFSA, which is the federal government's required form for college financial aid, is currently over 100 questions long. It's so complex that as many as 1.5 million Pell grant-eligible students don't complete the form. In other words, low-income students often find the form so daunting that they simply give up.

It isn't just that eligible students don't get the grants they qualify for. Forbes reports on one study that indicates that the FAFSA's complexity sometimes pushes low-income students to more expensive, private loans instead of publicly-subsidized loans. The study's author, Mark Kantrowitz, found that two-thirds of students who take out only private loans came from families with an income of less than $50,000.

At JRF, we're for FAFSA reform that makes it easier for students to go to college, preferably without taking out expensive private loans. Plus, FAFSA reform couldn't come at a better time, since, due to the recession, applications for student aid are up 12% over last year.