Simplify Financial Aid

In a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan ‘86, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland wrote that “111 schools,” Harvard included, “may be contravening the requirements of the Higher Education Act” through misleading financial aid application instructions. According to the Higher Education Act passed in 1992, colleges can only require the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for students wishing to apply for federal aid. However, until recently, Harvard's financial aid application instructions, boxed together both the FAFSA as well as the CSS PROFILE application—a College Board managed form that cannot be used for the purposes of determining federal aid—with the phrase “all applicants” affixed to both.

Harvard's old formulation, which Congressman Cummings says insufficiently clarifies "what each form is used to assess" and exists "without any explanation of use or purpose,” is specifically cited in the letter.

The old instructions appear to be a well-intentioned attempt to encourage students to apply for Harvard’s generous financial aid. Students must complete the CSS PROFILE to receive Harvard aid, and applicants who fill out only the FAFSA might never know about the financial assistance that Harvard could give them. The difference between the two applications is yet another example of the extreme complexity of the financial aid process. Harvard should make it as easy as possible for students to apply for financial aid, but that goal should not interfere with delivering complete and accurate information to applicants. The simple wording change makes it clear that only the FAFSA is required for federal aid, but filling out the CSS PROFILE is in almost every financial aid applicant’s interest.

The complications of the financial aid applications are among the many hurdles that disproportionally affect those undecided about whether or not they will apply to specific colleges. The cost of the CSS PROFILE, especially for families that narrowly exceed the income limit for the fee waiver program, is troubling because it presents a barrier to those applying for Harvard aid.

The FAFSA, as its name indicates, is a free application. In 1992 when the Higher Education Act was amended, the FAFSA was redesigned to consolidate the several forms that had previously existed for application for federal aid. Some of these now-obsolete forms had fee requirements, and the streamlining of the FAFSA was done in significant part because these fee requirements deterred potential college applicants.

Harvard's financial aid application must recognize the history of the FAFSA and the reasoning behind its creation. It is certainly much simpler for a Harvard administrator to simplify our financial aid application and make it free than it is for a 17-year-old from a low-income household to decide whether or not she should apply. Regardless of how open and considerate the college currently is about financial aid, there is clearly room for improvement.

Harvard has nothing to lose, and a few simple fixes that build on the wording change that has already been made could change a young student's life.