A new report, The Complication with FAFSA Simplification, was recently published by the Brookings Institution’s Center on Children and Families. It was authored by Phillip Levine, a Nonresident Fellow of Economic Studies at Brookings Institution’s Center on Children and Families, and Jill Desjean, Senior Policy Analyst for NASFAA.
“The goal of the 2020 FAFSA Simplification Act is to make it easier for students to apply for financial aid by significantly reducing the number of questions on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form. The law also includes substantive changes in the underlying formula that determines the amount of financial aid for which students are eligible. Those changes will affect the size of students’ Pell Grants and the amount of additional financial aid that higher education institutions can provide (known as “institutional aid”). This report details those changes and their likely impact on the net price of college, after factoring in financial aid, for dependent students attending four-year institutions.”
An interactive feature is available that will simulate the impact of the FAFSA simplification on financial aid eligibility by looking at family income and the number of siblings in college.
“One clear lesson from the interactive is that students with siblings in college will in many cases be eligible for considerably less financial aid after FAFSA simplification than under the current formula.”
Read a summary of the report and view the interactive graphic here.