New FAFSA tool to ease financial maze

A new Web site could make the dream of going to college a little bit clearer for low-income high-school students.

Last week, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Government Initiative launched a new service called the FAFSA4caster; the online tool will allows students in their junior year of high school to get an early estimate of the government aid they are eligible to receive.

The new service will also speed up the process of filling out the full FAFSA application, which is typically done during the spring of a high-school student's senior year.

The Web site is part of a larger plan by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to increase access to college for all Americans.

"Families need more information - sooner - about students' federal aid eligibility so that they can plan ahead for college," Spellings said in a press release. "The FAFSA4caster gives families an important tool they can use to make decisions about the future."

Director of Student Financial Services Bill Schilling said that, though the change will not directly affect the way Penn deals with financial aid for incoming students, it's always a smart move to make the complicated financial-aid process a little bit easier to navigate.

"The more information available, the better," he said.

According to information released by the Department of Education, the Web site will instantly calculate a student's eligibility for federal student aid and grants.

However, Schilling cautioned that, while the information is helpful for students, it is not indicative of a student's entire financial situation, especially as calculated by private universities like Penn.

Federal student loans "do not represent the big picture" when it comes to aid availability, he said.

Schilling added that information needs to be distributed so a student does not confuse not being eligible for government aid with not being eligible for any aid at all.

The FAFSA4caster will speed up the process of obtaining aid by including 51 of the 102 questions that appear on the current FAFSA application.

College sophomore James Kania, who receives financial aid, believes that the FAFSA4caster will help students, but that users must realize the estimate is not a final decision.

The Web site is "good, as long as people understand that it's a forecaster and not set in stone," he said. "It will allow students with unique [financial] situations to better prepare" for the financial burden of college.

In September, an updated version of the FAFSA4caster will also include student loans that need to be repaid with interest.

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