The pressures of college life - papers, exams, the occasional bowl of ramen noodles, and this... the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. It's what you have to fill out if you're looking for grants and loans.

Florida State sophomore Shaye Haggler will be the first to tell you, the FAFSA is a pain.

"It is a lot of...you have to have a lot of communication with your parents about, 'cause I can't fill out the FAFSA completely on my own because I don't know my parents' income information," she said.

So many students on the state's Bright Futures scholarship don't even bother to do deal with the FAFSA, but under a new state law beginning this fall they'll have to do it or they'll never see a penny from Tallahassee.

With funding for Bright Futures being cut at a rapid clip, you might well say the state is in a fiscal emergency, and one way to get out of it would be to make it more difficult for students to get their money, but don't hit the alarm just yet.

Lawmakers contend their only aim is to get more demographic information about students who are attending college on taxpayer dollars.

Marcia Boyd heads student affairs at FAMU, and she says there may be an even bigger benefit, given those cuts to Bright Futures.

"If they complete the FAFSA form, they might be eligible for some federal aid as well, and hopefully offset some of the dollar amounts that they're losing from Bright Futures," Boyd said.

Still, many students may not learn about the change until classes begin, and even though Shaye's become a master of the FAFSA...

"I mean, my dad lives across the country, and he will do it, so..."

The rookies are bound to feel the pain.

Campus financial aid directors say now is the time for bright futures students to take care of their FAFSAs. If they wait until the first week of classes, there's a high likelihood of extended delays in getting their funds.