Financial Aid for EducationA guy with $50,000 in debt must be irresponsible with his money, right? In reality, he is more likely to be a college student. Hundreds of thousands of college students across the country find themselves in a difficult financial situation due to the government's impersonal financial aid policies. The current federal government system has too many quirks that end up hurting the people financial aid is supposed to help. The federal government should modify its financial aid policies to take into account many other factors, such as the percentage of educational expenses paid by the student. Under the current system, all students applying for federal aid fill out a form called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form is intended to calculate the amount of money a family is able to shell out for an education, or the expected family contribution (EFC). Assuming the student does not qualify for independent status, both expected student and parent contributions are included in the EFC. For a student to obtain independent status you must be married or over the age of twenty-four. After submitting the FAFSA, the student will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) that includes the expected family contribution. The way most schools determine the amount of aid you will receive is to subtract your expected family contribution from your total college costs. Total costs include things like tuition, room and board, insurance, and other miscellaneous expenses. The student receives the difference between loans and grants. A loan is financial aid that will have to be repaid, normally after the student graduates. A grant does not have to be returned. A scholarship... middle of paper... for the government. There are several small ways the government could improve its financial aid policies to make them more responsive to students. I believe that all the changes I have suggested are feasible. They might require some tweaking, but would ultimately represent a change for the better. These changes would allow the FAFSA to more fairly represent student needs. It would never hurt if the government invested more money in education, but even if it didn't, it should do a better job of distributing the aid it provides. Sources Cited: Kantrowitz, Mark. “Financial Aid Estimator Calculator.” FinAid. 1999. http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml (13 November 00)DAV. "Student Guide 2000-2001." US Department of Education. 2000. http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide/2000-1/index.html (November 13 00)