FAFSA is the form the government and colleges use to determine financial aid for millions of students. The IRS alerted the Education Department in October, the same month that the FAFSA application went live. [How your family finances factor into financial aid calculations]Applicants can fill out the paper FAFSA form or use the online version and manually enter tax data. Lawmakers have asked states to push back their financial aid deadlines in light of the shutdown, since most jurisdictions rely on the FAFSA to dispense grants. Colleges and universities typically want the FAFSA data by March to help them divvy up their own aid dollars.

Source: Washington Post April 06, 2017 20:15 UTC