EVERETT — Fifteen minutes.
That might be all the time you need to fill out the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, which determines student eligibility for grants, scholarships and student loans.
A law championed by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in 2020, known as the FAFSA Simplification Act, cut the number of questions students need to answer by more than half.
The law also increased the number of students eligible for financial aid, particularly Pell Grants. Those grants provide money to students from low-income households to access education. Unlike student loans, Pell Grants typically don’t have to be repaid.
After the reforms, more students than ever can qualify for financial aid. The next step for educators and lawmakers is to get people to complete the application, to make sure money students could earn isn’t left on the table.
The biggest update to the FAFSA in over four decades had a shaky rollout last year, causing delays and confusion for students looking to apply for aid. This year, the FAFSA launched Dec. 1 — two months later than usual — but lawmakers are now more enthusiastic about the opportunities the reforms can provide to students.
“It was really frustrating that it has taken this long to get it passed into law, and then once it was passed into law, having it come out in a way that was really clunky wasn’t what our goal was at all,” Murray said in an interview. “I think the most important thing for people to know is it’s working, it’s easy to fill out, and take advantage of it. We want as many young people as possibly to be able to fulfill their education and get what they want.”
After the new law went into effect, students eligible for Pell Grants increased by 12.3% in Washington, according to Department of Education data. But only 41.4% of graduating seniors in the state completed the FAFSA for the 2024-2025 school year, one of the worst rates in the nation. That meant Washington high school graduates left about $65 million in Pell Grants on the table.
“We’ve got to change that,” Sen. Murray said. “We’ve got to make sure people are filling this out and getting access.”
On Dec. 11, Congress passed a bill requiring the FAFSA to launch by Oct. 1 every year.
Locally, financial aid experts are looking forward to the potential for more access to federal funding, despite the form’s difficult rollout last year.
“It ends up being a shorter, easier to understand application that qualifies them, typically, for more money than it ever has before,” said Alicia Mallahan, the executive director of financial aid at Edmonds College.
About half of the students at Edmonds College receive some form of financial aid, Mallahan said. A third of the student body receives aid because of the FAFSA. Completing the application can also allow the school to connect students to other avenues of support, including the Washington College Grant, unemployment benefits or food stamps.
The Washington College Grant is available for undocumented students, unlike the FAFSA.
Edmonds College will host an application event 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 3 at 20000 68th Avenue W in Lynnwood to give advising help to new students. Financial aid application workshops will begin at 2 p.m. Jan. 21, with a number of other dates available. Students can sign up online: https://forms.gle/GWjS44u565YLVjao8.
“The worst case would be that they have spent some time, maybe 20 minutes, and they find out they don’t qualify,” Mallahan said. “… We want to see people being able to make this move, go to college, make it affordable and change the trajectory of their lives. Why not try it out and just see?”
To fill out the FAFSA, visit https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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