By Catherine Mueller It is understandable – that overwhelmed feeling you get when thinking about how to pay for college. While much of that feeling is due to the amount of money involved, you can mitigate it somewhat with a college financial plan. The college financial plan consists of understanding the cost of attending college and […]
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By Catherine Mueller Students eligible to receive the maximum Federal Pell Grant for 2025-26 will receive the same amount as was awarded in the current academic year. The maximum Pell Grant award for 2025–26 (July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026) will be $7,395. Pell Grant award amounts can vary based on a student’s eligibility and
Pell Grant award amounts unchanged for the 2025-26 academic year Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Anyone can get confused about which tax year to use for the FAFSA. The key to knowing which year to use is to subtract two from the beginning of the academic year. It’s often referred to as “prior-prior” year tax information. For example, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the
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By Catherine Mueller It’s not that you don’t want to write the essay. You do! If you are like so many other people, the real reason you find essay writing difficult is you want it to be perfect. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to write the perfect essay, it becomes an issue when it’s holding
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By Marlene Seeklander It’s okay if you’re not entirely sure where you plan to go to college when completing the FAFSA. You can go ahead and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) even if you haven’t made a firm decision on where you plan to go to college. The FAFSA is designed so
The complete guide to adding or deleting colleges on your FAFSA Read More »
By Catherine Mueller If you don’t meet the deadline, you won’t qualify. Simple as that – deadlines are one of the most important requirements of scholarships. Certainly, there are other requirements you will have to meet but the deadline is critical. Scholarships are the best kind of aid. There may be certain requirements (should as maintaining
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By Catherine Mueller Not claimed as a dependent on your parent’s taxes? You may still be a dependent when it comes to applying for federal financial aid. Confusion over why a student is considered dependent on a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) when they are not claimed as a dependent on the parent’s tax
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By Catherine Mueller Students should apply for as many scholarships as possible. That’s good advice, but with that advice in mind, students should prioritize some scholarships and maybe avoid some scholarships altogether. In general, you should apply for those scholarships that are a good fit and not apply to any scholarships that seem questionable. To determine
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By Catherine Mueller Students interested in gaining leadership skills and money for college may want to consider the AmeriCorps program. AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), one of AmeriCorps’ most established programs, provides young adults ages 18 – 26 with the opportunity to serve in a full-time, paid, 10 –11-month national service opportunity. Another option is
Applications now open for 2025 AmeriCorps program Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students and parents setting up an FSA ID find it easy to do so, but there are some important tips to avoid account problems in the future. Setting up an FSA ID (also known as creating a StudentAid.gov account) is the first step to complete the FAFSA. To assist students and parents with
Create your StudentAid.gov account updated flyer available Read More »
