Deadlines changed for college financial aid

Changes are ahead for students seeking financial assistance for college tuition through a Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.

The FAFSA filing deadlines have been moved up and new documents are required for income information. The changes apply to students planning to attend college in the 2017-18 school year.

The FAFSA determines a student’s eligibility for federal and institutional aid, grants, loans and work-study based on income information.

Students or families accustomed to completing the FAFSA at the beginning of the calendar year may now fill out the form beginning today (as opposed to January) in order to meet earlier priority deadlines. Meeting the priority deadline provides students with the best chance at being awarded financial aid. Money is awarded to eligible students on a “first come, first served” basis, said Rhonda Safford, programs manager for Reach Higher Montana.

In Montana, the earliest priority deadline is Nov. 15 for the University of Montana and Missoula College. Dec. 1 is the priority deadline for most post-secondary schools in the state, including Montana State University.

With the shift in timing, people may now use the “prior, prior year’s” taxes. FAFSA applicants for the 2017-18 school year will use income information from taxes filed in 2015.

Safford said the changes make sense. Previously, the priority deadline was March, which could be chaotic for people filing taxes to meet the April deadline.

The ability to use taxes from two years prior also helps automate the application process.

“FAFSA filers who are trying to meet the priority filing date at Montana colleges on the previous system were often unable to take advantage of the IRS data retrieval tool because they hadn’t completed their taxes,” Safford said. “By allowing the use of tax information from the prior-prior year, more families will be able to use this tool that automatically populates information in the FAFSA.”

Safford said the earlier timing gives students and families more time to “shop around” based on the financial aid offered.

To fill out the FAFSA visit https://fafsa.ed.gov. For more information visit https://studentaid.ed.gov or http://www.reachhighermontana.org.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.