On June 24th, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that FAFSA (the free application for student aid) is about to get a whole lot easier. Right now, the application is monstrous, daunting, and the last thing I wanted to have to fill out when I was about to graduate from high school–seriously, I would’ve rather had more homework to do.

“Simplifying the FAFSA is another significant action in our quest to keep a college degree within the reach of every person who aspires to higher education,” Duncan said.

What’s Changing in FAFSA Land

In the Department of Education press release, several of the changes are laid out:

• Since this past May, students have been able to get instant estimates of Pell Grant and student loan availability–this used to take weeks
• This summer the online FAFSA system will have its skip-logic system updated, which should reduce most user navigation by fifty percent
• Started in January 2010, students will be able to instantly grab their tax info directly from the IRS–while applying

They’re also working on eliminating 26 questions from the form by taking out all of the financial information inquires that can’t be answered with IRS data. Perhaps this new and improved FAFSA will eliminate the need for explanatory pages and services that actually charge to fill it out for you.

More Good News for the College Students–and Their Parents
Several other bits of good news were announced as well:

• Pell Grants are getting a shot in the arm to the tine of $500 more a pop, raising them to $5,350, thanks to the Recovery Act, which also created the American Opportunity Tax Credit
• The Perkins Loan program is going to become available to 2,600 new schools–that’s 2.7 million more students who can take advantage of Perkins Loans
• Obama has proposed a new College Access and Completion Fund. This 5-year, $2.5 billion fund is aimed at economically disadvantaged students and will hopefully make a big impact on enrollment

All of these changes, expansions, and new funds are proof that Obama is working towards his goal of putting America back on top of the list for college graduates per capita. Nice work, Mr. President.