By Marlene Seeklander Sure, sometimes high school students don’t want to invite their parents to something, but in the case of the FAFSA, most students need to invite their parents. Students completing the 2025-26 FAFSA (if they are determined to be dependent students) are asked to invite their parent or parents to contribute to the FAFSA. Students need to provide […]
Contributing to a FAFSA when the invite isn’t received Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander It’s never too early to begin your search for college scholarships. All high students – not just seniors – should pursue scholarships. In fact, some scholarships are aimed at students as young as those in elementary or middle school. And, even if you can’t apply for some scholarships until you are senior, here
Five reasons to begin your scholarship search early Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander During Financial Literacy Month in April, Mapping Your Future encourages you to use its financial literacy tools and share the tools and resources with your students: Contact the Mapping Your Future staff at feedback@mappingyourfuture.org or (800) 374-4072 with any questions.
Mapping Your Future offers a variety of financial literacy tools Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Although every school or college has its own unique identity, sometimes its name can be similar to another institution. For that reason, in addition to the names, there is also a not-so-secret code for schools, and it’s a good idea to know how to find out these school codes before you apply for
Knowing the code could be an important key to financial aid Read More »
By Catherine Mueller By the first day of college classes, a student has completed a lot of paperwork to begin their educational journey. Completing the necessary applications and forms for a college education is an accomplishment in and of itself — even before you step on campus. Although the paperwork can seem overwhelming, it’s often much
A checklist of applications to complete for your college education Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Most of us need a nudge every once in a while, a little reminder to do something important like, maybe, completing the FAFSA. Students who completed FAFSAs in the last couple of years are receiving reminders from the Department of Education that the 2025-26 FAFSA is ready for them to complete. And the
2025-26 FAFSA reminder campaign underway Read More »
By Catherine Mueller After successfully completing your FAFSA, you should celebrate your accomplishment. However, don’t celebrate so much that you forget you will have other tasks to complete. One of those tasks is to review your FAFSA Submission Summary. One to three days after a student submits a 2025-26 FAFSA (and provided a valid email address),
Six things to check on your FAFSA Submission Summary Read More »
By Catherine Mueller It’s no longer just a matter of “done” or “not done” when considering the status of your financial aid application. It’s important to understand the different status updates to determine if you need to take any action. When you log in to your account at StudentAid.gov, the status of your application will be one
Understanding your FAFSA status Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students and families will want to take note of a recent update to one of the FAFSA questions. The Department of Education announced an update made to the FAFSA to comply with President Trump’s Executive Order, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. The update to
FAFSA Question 11 updated Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Graduation is a major milestone for high school students. After all, it’s an important marker on the road to life-long success. But along the way to graduation, there are many other traits for students to develop for life-long success, including: If you are well on your way to graduation, you’ve likely already developed
Five traits for a successful future Read More »
