Responding to the rising demand for financial aid, the Obama administration plans to make life a little easier for applicants – simplifying the FAFSA form.

Anyone who’s ever filled out a FAFSA form will agree: It’s a nightmarish undertaking.

There are currently 153 questions on the form. Proposed changes include dropping some of the financial questions, allowing applicants to use data from their 1040 forms, and generally shortening the application.

The reasoning is that if the form’s easier to fill out, more low and middle-income students will apply for – and receive – financial aid and therefore, be able to attend college.

And if you’re wondering how many people this might affect, just look at the numbers: More than 16 million students put in FAFSA applications last year.

Some skeptics question how much ‘easier’ it will be for an applicant to get data from a 1040 form (not the easiest document in itself).

So is simplifying FAFSA a good idea – or does it just sound good on paper? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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Tags: FAFSA, financial aid, Obama