The federal government, starting late next year, will allow students to apply for federal student aid based on their family’s income from two years earlier instead of the immediately previous year, the White House announced Sunday.
The Obama administration plans to change the federal aid process so that students can also submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, as early as October for the school year beginning the following summer or fall. Currently students must wait until January.
President Obama will formally announce the changes at a town hall with high school students in Iowa on Monday.
The change will take effect for students and families seeking federal financial aid for the 2017-18 school year. Those students will be able to submit a FAFSA as early as October 2016 using their 2015 income, as opposed to waiting until January and having to finalize their families' 2016 taxes.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/14/obama-administration-unveils-shifts-fafsa