Changes to FAFSA for the 2017-2018 school year | Trevecca Nazarene University

 

Changes to FAFSA for the 2017-2018 school year are in effect. Specifically, FAFSA is available earlier and uses different tax forms.

FAFSA, which stands for Free Application For Federal Student Aid, exists to loan government funds to students in hopes of helping them earn a college degree.

These changes were made to encourage high school students across the country to consider attending college more seriously. This especially applies to students who would choose to not attend college because of a lack of funding, and give them the time necessary to secure funding.   

One of the major changes is in the FAFSA timeline. Submissions will be accepted beginning today, October 1, rather than January 1 as in previous years.

Randy Kinder, director of new student financial aid, believes the changes will be helpful for students.

“I definitely think it’ll be positive because students will get the info sooner,” said Kinder. “That said, we don’t know how it will work out with the federal government, it may be chaotic. It’s a fear of the unknown.”

Another major concern with FAFSA in the past has been the requirement to submit the form multiple times, with the first time reflecting an estimation of income and the second time requiring recently filed tax documents.

“One of the challenges with FAFSA was that you had to submit and then resubmit,” said Kinder. “Now it has shifted to the previous-previous tax year.”

According to Kylie Pruitt, associate director of student financial services, the use of a tax form from the previous-previous year will open up the possibility for more families to complete the process sooner.

“In years past we have had several students that were unable to complete their FAFSA or complete the verification process until late summer because they or their parents had been unable to complete income taxes for the prior year,” said Pruitt. “The ability to use prior-prior data on the FAFSA should allow students to complete the FAFSA earlier and move through the verification process faster.”

For Trevecca students, apart from filing earlier and using tax forms from a previous year, deadlines will remain the same.

“Aid packages for returning students will be sent out in late May as in past years,” said Pruitt. “Once grades post for the spring term we will begin processing aid packages for those students that have completed a FAFSA.”

The most immediate changes begin today, October 1, 2016—the first day students can file FAFSA for the 2017-2018 academic school year, using their 2015 tax forms.

Click here to find more info about the FAFSA.


By Rebekah Warren
Media contact: Mandy Crow, mmcrow@trevecca.edu, 615-248-1695