Government plans to simplify FAFSA

Yesterday, the Education Department released a plan to simply the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA. The new FAFSA will eliminate redundant or unnecessary questions, and may even "sync" with IRS data to make it easier and faster for families to complete the form.

I find it a tad bit ironic that the FAFSA is receiving a makeover because of its complicated nature when I would consider it the simpler of the two financial aid forms we require. Remember, for a student to completely submit an application for financial aid, he or she must submit the FAFSA, the CSS Profile (available through the College Board) and all of the most recent and relevant tax forms. Details on the necessary documents can be found here.