The New York Times – Charlie Jarvis
“The high cost of college makes financial aid unavoidable for most students. And this means undertaking the lengthy and often complicated process of filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as Fafsa. The form can be confusing — so much so that each year about 25 percent of Fafsa forms are abandoned mid-process, leaving billions in federal aid unclaimed. And aside from going digital in 1997, it hasn’t changed much since it was first made available in the 1970s. The form is written in a slightly counterintuitive way, to be filled out by the student rather than a parent or guardian. And there are many moving parts.”(more)