Governors across the country are committed to providing meaningful, accessible, and affordable postsecondary pathways to residents of their state. This includes providing robust state-based aid programs and quality counseling and advising to support students in choosing the right path. Federal student aid programs help supplement existing state-based aid programs and provide the opportunity, particularly for low-income students, to access these pathways. Completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step a student must take to determine their eligibility for numerous federal, state, and institutional aid and scholarship programs.
Though the FAFSA is a gateway to financial aid for postsecondary education, the complexity of the FAFSA has historically been a barrier to completion to many students and families who would qualify for aid. To remove that barrier and streamline the application process, Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act at the end of 2020, which included the redesign of the FAFSA form that the U.S. Department of Education (The Department) launched December 31, 2023.
The Department’s new “Better FAFSA” is intended to shorten the length of the…
