Applying for financial aid can be a hassle at times. Between multiple visits to the Financial Aid Office, the Cashier’s Office, and struggling with gathering tax information, applying for your aid can be very time consuming. However, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid has made changes that might make filing for aid easier.
In 2015, President Obama announced several major changes to the FAFSA that will significantly affect students nationwide. Those changes will go into effect beginning with the upcoming 2017-18 academic year application cycle.
For the 2017-18 academic year, students will file their FAFSA starting on Oct. 1 2016, as opposed to Jan. in previous years. This will permit students to complete their FAFSA earlier.
These changes are permanent.
In addition, students will use tax income information from an the previous tax year to complete their FAFSA, starting in 2017-18. For the 2017-18 academic year, students will use their 2015 tax information (or their parents’ if appropriate) to file their FAFSA, rather than their 2016 tax information.
Likewise, in for the 2018-19 academic year, students will use their 2016 tax information.
For more details about the impending changes, visit College Students and Parents: What You Need to Know About the 2017–18 FAFSA®.
