A Simpler Aid Application for Low-Income College Students. Policy Brief

Autor/in	Walizer, Lauren
Institution	Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Titel	A Simpler Aid Application for Low-Income College Students. Policy Brief
Quelle	(2018), (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	College Students; Student Financial Aid; Federal Aid; Poverty; Grants; Racial Differences; Ethnicity; Student Loan Programs; Student Needs; Minority Group Students; Income; Financial Aid Applicants; Eligibility; Financial Problems; Paying for College; Low Income Students + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Collegestudent; Finanzielle Beihilfe; Studienfinanzierung; Studienförderung; Armut; Grant; Rassenunterschied; Ethnizität; Einkommen; Antragsteller; Eignung
Abstract	Policymakers, postsecondary education leaders, and researchers agree: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be a barrier to achieving this nation's college access goals. Concerns about the FAFSA's negative impact on enrollment and financial aid have sparked a bipartisan push to simplify and shorten the form by removing "unnecessary" questions. For low-income students, though, it's critical to expand the current political thinking about simplification. The simplification discussion should include raising the threshold for the automatic zero Expected Family Contribution (EFC). "Autozero EFC" allows low-income students to skip income and asset questions, thereby providing minimal information while still automatically qualifying for the maximum Pell Grant. It also allows low-income dependent students and independent students with dependents to maximize their eligibility for federal student aid. Students are eligible for autozero EFC if they have low income (up $25,000), and either receive public benefits, have status as a dislocated worker, or are allowed to file a simplified tax form or are not required to file a tax return at all. As a cost-savings measure in 2012, Congress lowered the threshold for autozero EFC from an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $32,000 to $23,000 (which has since risen with inflation to $25,000). By lowering the threshold, fewer students are eligible for the autozero EFC. Had the rollback not taken place and the $32,000 threshold continued to rise with inflation per the statute, the threshold would be nearly $35,000 today. This brief addresses two reasons why policymakers should raise the limit back to $35,000: (1) financial need goes further up the income stream than it once did, and the conception of "low-income" should include students with incomes up to $35,000; and (2) students who earn between $25,000 and $35,000 have significant financial need and are disproportionately students of color and frequently financially independent from their parents. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Center for Law and Social Policy. 1015 15th Street NW Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-906-8000; Fax: 202-842-2885; Web site: http://www.clasp.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01