Audio clip
Joseph Postell
Every few seconds Brainerd resident Joseph Postell looked up from the mountain of papers in front of him, his eyes strained.
The application for federal college aid listed hundreds of questions, many with words he didn’t understand.
“It looks so complicated,” the 28-year-old said to the woman peering over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I hadn’t had help.”
Thousands of aspiring college students — and many of their parents — confront the complex Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms every year. But the 10-page application thwarts even the most determined, keeping many students from applying for college aid they are eligible to receive, experts say.
“The FAFSA can be very intimidating,” said Cynthia Wallace, who helped Mr. Postell complete the paperwork. Ms. Wallace is director of the Southern Appalachian Educational Opportunity Center, which helps low-income adults in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia apply for college funding.
For help
Low-income adult students who need help filing for federal financial aid can contact the Southern Appalachian Educational Opportunity Center at 423-425-1702 or visit its Web site at www.utc.edu/Outre...>
A report by the U.S. Department of Education shows that at two-year colleges, 57 percent of students who are eligible for Pell grants complete the required forms. At public universities 76 percent of eligible students apply for the grants. More than 1 million students annually do not receive federal aid for which they are eligible, data shows.
To combat low applicant rates, the White House is proposing simplifying the application or eliminating the application altogether.
While financial aid administrators agree complex forms discourage people from applying for aid, there is no agreement about the best method to improve application numbers.
“Unfortunately, it has been rare for interested parties to agree on the best way to simplify the system,” according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Long forms
The current FAFSA can take up to two full days for some students to complete, Ms. Wallace said. One question, answered incorrectly, can knock applicants out of thousands of dollars in aid or trigger a rejection of their application altogether.
Many students don’t realize that they cannot receive their HOPE scholarships if they don’t fill out a FAFSA by Sept. 1. Also, some military veterans are unaware they can receive federal funds on top of the education aid they receive from the GI Bill, she said.
“When I think about all the people out there trying to do FAFSA alone, it scares me,” Ms. Wallace said. “It is extremely rare that I see (an application) that I don’t correct a mistake on, and I have seen those mistakes translate to real dollars for students.”
Dianne Cox, director of financial aid at Dalton State College in Dalton, Ga., said some students don’t compete for federal funding because they are sure they won’t get any.
Many students who file a FAFSA their freshman year don’t receive a federal grant and then don’t reapply the rest of their time at school, she said.
Of the 4,321 enrolled students who filed the FASFA during the last school year, 2,334 qualified for Pell grants, she said.
More than 67 percent of financial aid officers at colleges believe the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service should share information to eliminate income questions from the FAFSA. Fourteen percent are opposed to the move, according to a survey by the National Association of Students Financial Aid Administrators.
Similarly, 23 percent of administrators don’t want to allow students to apply for financial aid through their tax filing.
Ms. Cox said she is concerned about using tax documents for student financial aid because there are many people who don’t file taxes. The IRS should share information with the Department of Education to help eliminate some questions from FAFSA, she said.
“We all know that the application has gotten out of hand,” Ms. Cox said.
Haley Chitty, a spokesman for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said government officials and legislators are considering several versions of simpler FAFSA forms.
“Low-income students would definitely benefit from a simpler form,” he said. “The question is, is it too simplified? We are worried people will get financial aid that don’t need it.”
For people like Mr. Postell the FAFSA is a paper hurdle worth overcoming. Recently released from prison, Mr. Postell dreams of opening a shop to sell purses and clothing in a mall.
“It will be worth it to go back to school,” he said.
Joan Garrett has been a staff writer for the Times Free Press since August 2007. Before becoming a general assignment writer for the paper, she wrote about business, higher education and the court systems. She grew up the oldest of five sisters near Birmingham, Ala., and graduated with a master's and bachelor's degrees in journalism from the University of Alabama. Before landing her first full-time job as a reporter at the Times Free Press, she ...
Actually the FAFSA has 106 questions/blanks that need to be completed/fill in. More than 50% of the FAFSA is simple general information and not every question applies to every individual. Having worked in this field it has been made quite apparent that opposition to filling out and completing the FAFSA is more a matter of laziness than difficulty.
Have you completed the FAFSA Joan? It is amazing how if the student and parent READ each question they will most likely not have any trouble. I agree with the first person that commented. The FAFSA even tells you what documents you will need prior to starting the application. There is no excuse. Students and their parents want their hand held through the entire process.
The online FAFSA is a very simple form to fill out. It does require that a student or a parent do some up front preparation and gathering of data to complete the form. I have complete one every year for 8 years straight while working and going to school part time. It has never taken me any longer than one hour to complete. Something you do not address is that most every post secondary school in Tennessee, through their outreach programs and or their Financial Aid Offices, offers one-on-one assistance for any student who requests it. You need to speak to the FA Directors or Outreach Coordinators of a few schools
I just did the FAFSA with my son, who graduated this year. The questions are obvious ones and require little critical thought. It is doubtful that anyone who could not follow the simple instructions would be successful in college.
With the secondary education our kids receive today, who can blame them for finding the Application difficult to complete?
They have been taught to depend on others [read "the government"] to fill their needs. It seems Dear Leader is about to do just that.
Sometimes I wonder if their teachers could complete it...
When will we stop lowering the bar? It feels like this administration wants students to be able to point and grunt to get whatever they want. Sadly we cannot "give" students ambition and drive, but this government, if it continues the hand outs in every form imaginable, will kill any ambition left in low socioeconomic groups. Why should they work hard? All you have to do is point and grunt and it's yours!
Sometimes I wonder if their teachers could complete it...
Yes Rolando their teachers can complete the FAFSA. Most of them did so to use grants and loans to assist them as they pursued their degrees.
After obtaining employment those same teachers face repeated attacks from many segments of society that seem to forget that at one time kids arrived at school with a much higher degree of support at home. So rather than accept the fact that lower standards do not work, it is easier to blame the teachers.
Get a grip Rolando. I routinely see young people that have no motivation to try. I also see kids that do not speak English put forth an effort that many American kids would not consider for a moment. I guess that is my fault too. I am willing to bet that many of the very same people that cannot comprehend the questions are in fact high school graduates.
Is it the fault of the teachers that gave their best efforts? Is it the fault of the administrators that are under such enormous pressure that they find unique and creative ways to lower the standards and give the illusion of improvement? Is it the the fault of a society that seems to expect more output from less input? Is it the fault of the individuals that choose to shun education because learning and achieving can be a challenge? No, it cannot possibly be the latter choice, that would indicate a degree of responsibility and we simply do not expect anyone to do that anymore, especially when the government is more than capable of being responsible for us!
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