Free Application for Federal Student Aid - Essay Example

As high schools work towards joining colleges, parents of such often face an intimidating paper chase referred to as Free Application for Federal Students Aid (FAFSA). This is the gateway to need-base financial assistance, which is often distributed by universities, colleges and for-profit schools which are entitled to federal funding for purposes of financial aid programs. This means that for any family having any college-bound student who plans to join a higher learning institution must ensure he/she fills the FAFA in case he/she wishes to be considered for any need-based financial help, which includes self-help such as parent and student work-study jobs and loans, and gifts such as the college awards and free money. The United States Department of education starts accepting applications for FAFSA at the start of January each year for upcoming academic year. The application period takes 18 months; state, federal, and institutional aid is given on a first come, first come basis. Nearly all students are eligible for financial aid, however, for those ineligible can still be eligible for the other aid. Students must meet the criteria below to be eligible for this aid: A U.S national, citizen of the U.S or an eligible, Must be registered with the selective Service System between ages 18 and 25 if needed to do so Must have a valid social security number Completes the FAFSA and promising to use federal aid for purposes of education Possesses high diploma, doesn’t owe the refunds to any state student grand, not a defaulter of any student loan, has never been guilty of possession or sale of illegal drugs. Fiscal Responsibility Act and Student Aid changes the criteria for the suspension of one’s eligibility to the drug-related offenses. Students, previously, could lose their eligibility either through the sale of a controlled substance right from the period of enrollment. SAFRA is responsible for dropping the penalties set for controlled substance abuse while remaining. For the veteran military, as well as the active members of in the service may also apply for this financial aid through filing the FAFSA as they apply for housing and education benefits offered to them by the Post-9/11 G.I Bill and the Yellow Ribbon program accompanying it. The quantity of Aid a student receives does in any way depend on amount received from federal government which include SMART, TEACH, and Pell In this paper aspect I chose was Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The problem was how it is heavily based on the student’s parent’s income and the assumption that the parents are going to help pay the student’s tuition. It also doesn’t take into consideration different circumstances in which although the parents might make a decent income it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can afford to help out with the tuition. Assuming that fellow college students do in fact agree with the problem and solution. Im not 100% sure on the exact details of how FAFSA works so if I mentioned something that isnt true or if there are other problems with how FAFSA works please feel free to make changes. As far as the solution to the problem goes, I will give you some leeway as far as how you can possibly correct the problem stated. I would like to be informed on how you plan on fixing the problem before you start writing. Thank you. Instead of using this criteria, I suggest that the loans be based on prospective income of the student after completion and that the grace period should be extended from the initial 6 months to 2 years. This means that no payments are made until the student has worked for 2 years after graduation. This means that the assumption that the parents are going to help students pay such loans should never be used as a criteria for providing loans to students. This is because in many cases, other issues crop incapacitating the parents from advancing their help towards their children. The clause that provides for (PLUS or “parent Loan for undergraduate students”) parents to borrow much more than students with a view to help cover any gap in the education cost should be removed. As has been the case in most occurrences, there is no provision for grace period for this loans. Parents start paying immediately. Usually these are PLUS loans (formerly standing for "Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students"). Unlike loans made to students, parents can borrow much more — usually enough to cover any gap in the cost of education. However, there is no grace period: Payments start immediately. Circumstances incapacitate some parents making their credit to suffer. The rescuer in this case is the very student who upon completion must help the parent settle these loans. It should be noted that the interest rate for loans is relatively high. In essence what this means is that those who ultimately pay the price are the borrowers who are students themselves. I suggest that the current plan, in which graduate students legally receive these PLUS loans in their names should be encouraged. Moreover, the repayment of these loans should be made later by the students themselves and should be later perhaps after 2 years when the student is somewhat more stable financially than before. This means that instead of parents signing a promissory note, this duty should be left to students themselves and the payments subscription should be based on the student’s salary. However, these Graduate PLUS loans should attract very low interest rates. With longer grace period and low interest rates. Another alternative may be for the government to zero rate the interest rates charged on PLUS. Could also move in and subsidize. Read More