Dive Brief:
- A congressman says more than 100 colleges and universities are misleading students on applying for federal financial aid.
- Students need to fill out only the FAFSA to qualify for federal financial aid, but many colleges require a separate form for their financial aid, and Rep. Elijah Cummings says some schools give the impression that both forms are required for federal money.
- Cummings said congressional staff identified 111 schools with misleading directions, including Duke, Stanford, Notre Dame, and most members of the Ivy League.
Dive Insight:
The problem with creating the impression that a second form — such as the CSS/Financial Aid Profile — may be needed is that the second form is much more complex than the FAFSA and carries a fee. The FAFSA is free. A spokesman for one of the colleges targeted by the complaint, Bucknell University, said the school would revise its wording.