Thumbs down on financial aid form
An influential education panel recommends canceling the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a complex form known as the FAFSA.
The 101-question document is the gateway for obtaining money from government and school programs, as well as private scholarships. Almost every student applying to college, regardless of income, submits the form. But it is so detailed that some families are discouraged from applying, the Rethinking Student Aid study group said.
The Internal Revenue Service can provide most of the information needed to apportion federal financial aid fairly, said the panel, which spent two years studying ways to simplify the student aid process.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
