Students applying to the University of California for the 2017-2018 academic year will be able to use tax information from two years prior on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, according to an executive action taken by President Barack Obama and a UC announcement on Sunday.
The FAFSA form is available on Jan. 1 of each year. However, since most families don’t file income tax returns until later in the year, the process of receiving financial aid is delayed.
Under this action, students applying to college for fall of 2017 can fill out FAFSA as early as October 2016 using their 2015 return.
The government and the UC use the FAFSA form to determine eligibility for Pell Grants and federally backed student loans.
Dianne Klein, a spokeswoman for the UC, said in an email statement that students applying to the UC will now be able to learn of their eligibility for Cal Grants earlier and will also receive information about their complete financial aid eligibility package, including institutional aid, when they are admitted to UC.
In a press release, the White House said requiring applicants to wait until January slows down the aid process and makes it harder for prospective students to determine whether they can afford to go to college.
Klein added she thinks enabling students to fill out the FAFSA using earlier information, also referred to as prior-prior information, will make it easier for students from low-income families to determine their financial aid package earlier in the application process.
Other colleges including Loyola University, Michigan State University, Oregon State University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have also committed to allowing students who use prior-prior income data to apply for institutional financial aid for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Compiled by Shreya Maskara, Bruin senior staff.