MACON, Ga. (AP) - Students planning to attend college in Georgia and apply for state financial aid will soon have to fill out a federal application instead of a state form.

The Georgia Student Finance Commission has announced the Georgia Student Finance Application will be obsolete beginning June 8, 2013. Students applying for state assistance will have to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Georgia Student Finance Commission interim president Tracy Ireland says the change will help verify students applying for financial aid are legal citizens. Ireland says the state could have collected sworn affidavits and citizenship documents, or required federal applications instead.

Ireland says about half of students receiving assistance through her agency already use the FAFSA, which requires more information than the state application.

WGXA's Amber Jones talked to the Financial Aid staff at Fort Valley State University. They broke down the change.

"For 2013-14, it's very different for our students because we have to customize and set up different verification depending on what group a student falls in." says Lakisha Sanders the Financial Aid Director at Fort Valley State University. Usually a student falls into one verification group. They're either an independent student or a dependent student. This coming year, financial aid counselors will have to group students in 5 different verification groups.

Fort Valley State University says they're taking a proactive approach by making the information easily accessible for students. "So if a student just goes to the fort valley state university website they will also see a button that allows them to click on financial aid," says Sanders.

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Information from: The Macon Telegraph, http://www.macontelegraph.com