BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Easier and faster: that's the goal behind changes made to the application process for federal student aid.
Ferris State University's Director of Financial Aid, Rebecca Grooters, says they're already seeing the positive impacts.
“From the experiences we're seeing with students, the process from start to finish is much quicker for students to go through,” said Grooters.
Grooters says that's happening because there are fewer questions students and their families need to fill out.
There's also a new form with the term "contributor", where dependent students' parents or guardians, or independent student's spouse fill out their own information needed for the student's financial aid.
"Those contributors need their own FSA ID and password in order to log into the FAFSA and complete their portion of it. So the student completes their own portion their contributor completes a second portion you know, with their particular details,” said Grooters
But even with all of the changes, there are still some issues.
Grand Valley State University's Associate Vice President for Financial Aid, Michelle Rhodes says there's a delay in processing the application information and sending it to the schools students are applying for.
"That's causing, you know, those of us that work in financial aid not to be able to communicate to students and families as early as we used to or early as we would like to get them information to, you know, have them make sure their financial aid is set for next year,” said Rhodes.
But even with the delay, Rhodes said don't wait. You can apply now and be ready for the next steps.
“We still want students and families to do everything they can to be prepared, because once they start getting that information, they're probably going to have to work a little bit more quickly to make some of those decisions,” said Rhodes.
Ferris State University is hosting two webinars on this topic. One will be held on February 7 and the other on February 8.
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