Feds revamp student-aid application

WASHINGTON -- "Spoiler alert: college is really expensive," the Education Department warns in a blog post as it invites students to apply for federal student aid.

Most students need some form of financial aid to pay for college, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year, but the process of applying for aid became more difficult earlier this year when an online tool for retrieving tax data was taken down because of security concerns.

The IRS has fixed the glitch, and on Tuesday, the Education Department launched a revamped version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.

The application asks students for their demographic, financial and other family information to come up with their expected family contribution.

The difference between college tuition and that figure will determine that student's financial need.

An online tool called the FAFSA forecaster may help students understand their federal aid options.

Applicants also need to list the schools to which they are applying, and the Education Department recommends students name all the possible colleges and universities they are considering, even if they don't end up applying to all of them.

As part of the FAFSA launch, the government is reinstating an online IRS data-retrieval tool students can use to link their tax information to their application automatically.