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The Education Department offended a lot of people with a Bridesmaids meme

Libby Nelson is Vox's policy editor, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.

Sometimes financial aid and memes from Bridesmaids do not mix, as the US Education Department learned tonight:

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It's a particularly egregious tweet given that the Obama administration has devoted time and energy to getting low-income students into top colleges — and they'll need the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, to get financial help.

Students from families with slightly higher incomes are more likely to fill out the free application in time to qualify for need-based aid. So are students from families where parents already went to college.

Meanwhile, a proposal with bipartisan support in the House and Senate would turn the complicated FAFSA form into just two questions.

Update: The Education Department apologized Wednesday morning:

"We apologize for this insensitive Twitter post, which flies in the face of our mission of opening doors of opportunity for every student. It was an ill-conceived attempt at reaching students through social media. We are reviewing our process for approving social media content to ensure it reflects the high standards we expect at the U.S. Department of Education."