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New Plans Will Free Up the 'Free Application' for Student AidEducation Secretary Arne Duncan announced plans Wednesday to simplify the application process for federal student aid, including a feature that lets some users skip irrelevant questions and a proposal to eliminate other questions. It also would allow families to use tax-related information they already provide to the IRS.Both Duncan and IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman called the current system a nightmare. Shulman described the form used now as "an endurance test for students and their families." One goal is to ease the burden on the 16 million students and families a year who gather up bank statements, investment information and other documentation needed to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. It asks as many as 153 questions, depending on a student's circumstance. Another is to encourage more low- and middle-income students to apply for aid. Some data suggest, for example, that about 1.5 million college students probably are eligible for federal Pell Grants but have not applied for them. Other data show some students are turning to private loans when they might have gotten a better deal through a federal loan program. The changes are part of the Obama administration's multi-pronged effort to increase the number of U.S. students earning college degrees. "We have to educate our way to a better economy," Duncan said in a statement Tuesday. "Young people and adult learners deserve the chance to go to college and to know the money they need is available." — Mary Beth Marklein |
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