Ellie Heider
Contributing Writer
Students will now have an easier time applying for financial aid beginning in the fall because of changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), according to Victoria Spivak, assistant vice president for Student Enrollment Services.
The FAFSA Simplification Act will
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Reduce the number of questions from 100 to 36.
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Rely on information directly imported from the International Revenue Service (IRS), instead of manually.
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Expand the range of students eligible for the Federal Pell Grant
These application adjustments will be released on the FAFSA form before Jan. 1, 2024, and after Oct. 2023. It will mostly affect incoming freshmen because their financial aid packages may take longer than usual to be presented to them, says Spivak.
The staff, specifically Spivak, at Stars Connect will be preparing for the revisions by monitoring regulations and changes to policies and procedures.
“Students don’t need to do much to prepare”, Spivak said. She encourages students to pay attention to their emails during this time to understand the changes that will occur. A large percentage of the students that apply for FAFSA receive at least one type of aid.
Elizabeth Silk, The director of institutional research at Dominican, sent over the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data (IPEDS) report. This report contains the data Dominican sent to the Department of Education (DOE). 100% of freshmen in the Fall of 2022 received some form of aid.
Whether students believe they will receive aid or not, Spivak encourages them to apply. “There’s no harm in filling out FAFSA,” she said. “Everyone’s situation is unique.”