The FAFSA form has changed – for the better. In June, the White House announced significant adjustments to this financial aid process. Here’s what’s new:

Grant and loan assessment in one click.

Once you’ve completed the FAFSA, you are instantly given a Pell Grant estimation and notified of your eligibility for student loans, (as opposed to waiting weeks to find out). Information on post-graduation loan rates is also provided.  

No need to hassle Mom and Dad anymore.

Students who are married or over 23 can skip past questions regarding their parents’ financial status. Additionally, low-income students can skip over irrelevant questions about personal/parental assets.

You can cut and paste (kind of).

Spring 2010 financial aid applicants can upload their IRS tax data directly in to the FAFSA form. If this process proves seamless, the option will be offered to all students in the future.   

Nixing unnecessary information.

There are a number of questions on the FAFSA form that aren’t required for evaluating your financial needs. So the White House has proposed getting rid of these questions – all 26 of them – and instead only asking for information collected by the IRS to calculate aid. This change is pending congressional approval.

You can learn more about the FAFSA form and what to expect next year at http://studentaid.ed.gov.