The current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), while enabling millions of students to apply for college aid, also presents significant barriers for low-income and first-generation students seeking to attend college. The application process is complicated, resulting in only a 44-percent completion rate for all high school seniors by graduation. This translates into $24 billion in unclaimed federal aid, including $2.7 billion in Pell Grants. While previous legislative efforts have sought to reduce FAFSA complexity, the need to simplify and demystify the FAFSA form and financial aid could increase college access and completion. This brief explores whether it is possible to improve the FAFSA-filing experience for all students -- particularly those who are low-income, to encourage use of financial aid and increased college enrollment -- while maintaining the original universality of the form and a similar approach to the federal aid methodology, particularly regarding distribution of Pell Grant awards. After a review of why the FAFSA is important and students' current awareness of federal aid, this brief explores one possible simplification process: the Streamlined FAFSA, a simplification of the FAFSA form using extreme skip logic and question elimination. To examine whether the Streamlined FAFSA meets the goals outlined above, this brief reviews a summary of the results from a prototype user-testing of this method compared to the current FAFSA form, and a cost-analysis of how formula changes required to implement the Streamlined FAFSA will impact the Pell Grant program. [Contributors to this report include: Kim Cook, Elizabeth Morgan, Allie Ciaramella, and Courtney Argenti.]