President Barack Obama spoke to students in Des Moines, Iowa about making college more accessible during a town hall meeting on Monday.

The president joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan to kick-off of his sixth annual back-to-school bus tour Monday afternoon. At the event at North High School, Obama announced a change to the college financial aid system that will allow students to apply for assistance three months earlier, reports KCCI.

Under the initiative, college-bound students and their families can file an application under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, in October rather than in January. The FAFSA application helps eligible students obtain federally supported student loans and Pell Grants, which offer students federal assistance based on their needs. According to the White House, the measure has been taken in order to make college more affordable.

Students also will be able to retrieve tax information filed for a previous year over the Internet, so that they no longer have to wait until tax season to finish their applications.

"Learning about aid eligibility options much earlier in the college application and decision process will allow students and families to determine the true cost of attending college - taking available financial aid into account - and make more informed decisions," said the White House, according to Reuters.

The Obama administration also noted that, although the FAFSA process has been simplified, about 2 million college students never sought a Pell Grant despite being eligible. Others never applied for college at all because they did not know aid was available.

"Over the next several years, the simpler FAFSA filing process could encourage hundreds of thousands of additional students to apply for and claim the aid they are eligible for - and enroll in college," reads the White House statement.