By Marlene Seeklander Students who want to take the ACT in February, either for the first time or to improve their score, have until early January to register. The regular registration deadline is Friday, January 9 for the February 14 ACT test. After January 9, students can register for the February test up until January 23
February 2026 ACT registration deadline approaching soon Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander EDExpress users who still need to make corrections to the 2024-25 FISAP now have a workaround for an issue affecting the calculation of total income for dependent and independent students. In a December 9 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education (ED) outlined that the issue only impacts records that have a null or
EDExpress 2024-25 has workaround for FISAP Total Income Calculation issue Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander EDExpress for Windows users have a new service release available for their use that will aid in the completion of the 2027-28 FISAP report. In a December 9 Electronic Announcement, Federal Student Aid announced a new service release for EDExpress for Windows 2025–26, Release 2.0. It is available in the Software and Other Tools area of
By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education this month released more information about enhancements to the new foreign gifts and contracts reporting portal. According to a December 3 Electronic Announcement, the new reporting portal will include a tailored, efficient, and institution-specific reporting process while maintaining compliance with Section 117. Based on feedback from nine institutions of
Details released about new federal portal for reporting foreign gifts and contracts Read More »
Tip of the Week Managing the “hecticness” of the holidays The holidays can be a hectic and stressful time for many people. How many times do we think that we must find the “perfect” gift for each person on our list, go all out with decorating and baking so that we create a magical experience,
Tip of the Week – December 10, 2025 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students completing the FAFSA now have additional information when deciding which college they may want to attend. In a December 8 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced the implementation of a new lower earnings indicator as part of the FAFSA. This indicator—effective December 7, 2025, and only applicable to first-year undergraduate students—provides
Students completing the FAFSA to be notified about colleges with lower earnings Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander FAFSA users who previously encountered an issue when attempting to report their address within the U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, should no longer encounter an issue. In a December 4 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that on December 7 an update to adjust some users’ state and country code information was
By Marlene Seeklander Colleges that need to report foreign gifts and contracts will want to make note of an upcoming training webinar. In a December 5 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that they are offering a training webinar, “Using the New Section 117 Reporting Portal” for schools required to report foreign gifts and contracts.
Using the new Section 117 Reporting Portal training webinar Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Students wanting to better understand financial aid for college can do so by looking at the big picture. To make the financial aid process more manageable, Mapping Your Future has developed a list of the five major steps a student must take to receive financial aid. Granted, each one of the steps involves
Breaking financial aid into five steps Read More »
Higher Ed News Vol. 17 – Issue 24 Keeping up the FAFSA momentum After years of hard work among financial aid and college access professionals, it was precious good news. 2026-2027 FAFSA information to be verified and acceptable documentation Financial aid professionals can now plan for the upcoming FAFSA verification season with the latest
Mapping Your Future Higher Ed News – December 4, 2025 Read More »
