Tip of the Week A guide to fall conference season – three ways to justify your attendance With Labor Day behind us, it’s now time to get ready for the next season – that is fall conference season. You may be planning to attend or present at an upcoming conference, however, with tight budgets and
Tip of the Week – September 3, 2025 Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Student loans have gotten a lot of press in the past few years and most of it has not been good. For some students, the headlines and stories are enough to scare them away from taking out any student loans – even it means not pursuing or postponing education beyond high school. And
The good and bad of student loans Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students interested in kicking off the fall by completing a college admissions requirement can register now for the October ACT test. The early registration deadline for the October 18, 2005 test is September 12, with the late registration deadline on September 30. Registration takes about 30 minutes to complete and requires students to
September 12 early registration deadline for October ACT test Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander More than 5 million ED-serviced borrowers with nearly $117 billion in outstanding federal student loans are in default as of June 2025, according to a Department of Education announcement. In addition, according to the Department, more than 6 million borrowers are in a delinquent status with about 4 million of those borrowers in
Updated reports added by Federal Student Aid to FSA Data Center Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Most high school seniors anxiously await life after high school. And while that life offers new-found freedoms, those same seniors may experience stress over the responsibilities that come with those freedoms. Your senior year is a time to dream of the future and think about all your life’s possibilities. But college preparation also
September tasks for seniors Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education is among the federal offices closed for the Labor Day federal holiday on Monday, September 1. The August 28 announcement states that the Federal Student Aid (FSA) offices and contact centers will be closed on September 1. All FSA websites will be operational on the holiday. The following additional
Labor Day holiday closings Read More »
Tip of the Week Department of Education announces the launch of Beta 2 testing The testing of the 2026-27 FAFSA continues to move forward, allowing some students and families to complete the FAFSA form early. On the Department of Education’s Homeroom blog, James Bergeron, Deputy Under Secretary, recently announced that following a successful Beta 1
Tip of the Week – August 27, 2025 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals now have some new tips for resolving a FAFSA error that has created confusion both students and schools. An August 21 Electronic Announcement provided an update from the Department of Education about the FAFSA Reject Code 68 and guidance for resolving issues related to this code. Reject Code 68 indicates
FAFSA Reject Code 68 update Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education wants to know who to contact when program issues arise, so they are reminding schools and servicers to keep their contact information current. In a recent Electronic Announcement, the Department reminded schools and third-party servicers to keep their contact information in the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) current in
Schools are reminded to keep contact information current Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander With the start of the 2025-26 school year, the Department of Education is reminding schools that processing financial aid may take longer during this peak season. In an announcement, the Department shared the following peak processing reminders for the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system: Questions can be directed to the FSA Partner
Financial aid peak processing season – reminders for 2025-26 Read More »
