6 New College Financial Aid Amendments in 2010 Part 1 January 14, 2010
Paul Partridge on 6 new college financial aid changes taking effect in 2010
Six new important college financial aid improvements are taking effect this year—all designed to help lower the cost of college. Today we will be discussing the first three.
- More money available for Pell Grants – Pell Grants are awarded to dependant students whose families make less than $50,000 or independent students with lower incomes. Congress sets Pell Grant amounts. To keep up with the price of college and cost of living, Pell Grants have increased from $4,731 in the 2008-2009 school year to $5,350 for the 2009-2010 school year.
- Federal student loan repayments become income-based – Since July 1, 2009, the federal government has instituted a new repayment method. This method will limit monthly payments to a more reasonable percentage for families based on their incomes. If a family’s income falls below 150 percent of the poverty line for their family size they will either have no payments or may owe no more than 15 percent of the income that exceeds that poverty line level. These new methods are still being worked out in terms of repayment of interest amounts.
- Easier FAFSA form-The FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid form will have fewer questions while using a “skip logic” method; meaning that students will be able to skip through questions that do not pertain to them.
Check back later this week on this blog to read about the remaining three college financial aid amendments — including easier transfer of income tax data . . . a clearer understanding of types of college loans . . . and larger financial aid budgets.
