Government says students can apply earlier for college aid

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/government-says-students-can-apply-earlier-for-college-aid/ar-AAefHlT

Under the current system, students planning to start school in the fall of 2017 must wait until January of that year to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The new system will let them complete the form as early as October 2016, the month that marks the traditional start to the college application season.

The government uses that form to determine eligibility for Pell Grants and federally backed student loans. The White House said requiring applicants to wait until January slows down the aid process and makes it harder for prospective students to determine whether they can afford to go to college.

Some 2 million college students are eligible for federal Pell Grants but miss out because they never apply, said James Kvaal, the deputy director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council.

"If we are not even reaching students who are currently enrolled in college, we wonder how many more students would be in college if they knew this aid was available," Kvaal said in an interview.

President Barack Obama planned to announce the revisions Monday during a meeting Monday with high school students in Des Moines, Iowa.

Trying to make college more affordable, Obama has capped some student loan payments and signed legislation lowering certain interest rates. Recently, however, he dramatically scaled back his plan for the government to rank colleges based on their performance and value.