Legislation would help poor students compete for financial aid

By Amanda Oglesby. With college costs outpacing most salary increases across the country, state Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced legislation last week designed to make higher education more affordable by making financial aid applications easier. The legislation — the Simplifying Financial Aid for Students Act of 2014 — would permit applicants to submit tax forms from the prior year when applying for financial aid. For example, a student applying for aid in early 2014 could submit their 2012 tax information instead of 2013 figures, if bill S-2340 passes. More...