FAFSA Changes in covid-19 relief bill (starting 2023/24 year)

Paying for College
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In theory, the argument would be that families who have kids 1-3 years apart versus 4+ years apart should be spending similar amounts on college for all of the kids either way, rather than getting a “financial aid bonus” for having the kids fewer than 4 years apart.

However, the counterargument is that some families are unable to handle multiple kids’ college costs all at the same time, even though they may have been able to do that one at a time.

The following chart of college spending may help visualize the difference, assuming each kid’s college costs $20k per year (before FA), and each kid takes 8 continuous semesters to graduate:

Year    Kids years apart
        1       4

0       $0      $0
1       $20k    $20k
2       $40k    $20k
3       $40k    $20k
4       $40k    $20k
5       $20k    $20k
6       $0      $20k
7       $0      $20k
8       $0      $20k
9       $0      $0

Total   $160k   $160k

The argument for the change is that both families eventually end up spending the same amount for college, so any need-based FA should be equal. The counterargument is that many families who could fit $20k (for example) in their yearly budgets cannot fit $40k (for example) in their yearly budgets.

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