Mapping Your Future features

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Questions to ask yourself before applying for scholarships

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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Create your StudentAid.gov account updated flyer available

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

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Christmas and New Year’s holiday hours for Federal Student Aid and Mapping Your Future

By Marlene Seeklander Hopefully, your holiday list doesn’t include working on Christmas or New Year’s day, but if you do, be aware that some Federal Student Aid offices are taking a break or will have modified hours. Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that their federal offices and Federal Student Aid processors and contact centers will be

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Mapping Your Future offers helpful tips on FAFSA completion, StudentAid.gov account creation in new videos

By Marlene Seeklander Students and parents wanting to know about the FAFSA or who need to create a StudentAid.gov account will want to watch the latest videos from Mapping Your Future. The “2025-26 FAFSA and Financial Aid” presentation and “Creating a StudentAid.gov Account” (setting up an FSA ID) videos are now available on the Mapping Your

Mapping Your Future offers helpful tips on FAFSA completion, StudentAid.gov account creation in new videos Read More »

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Priority deadlines for South Dakota colleges

By Marlene Seeklander Colleges often have priority deadlines for the FAFSA to help determine who to consider for certain financial aid programs. Please note: Some institutions may adjust their priority deadlines for 2025-26 due to the delay in the release of the FAFSA. If you have a question about priority deadlines or a suggestion for this

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2025-2026 FAFSA presentation recording available from Mapping Your Future

By Marlene Seeklander Students and parents wanting to know about the FAFSA will want to watch the latest video from Mapping Your Future. The 2025-26 FAFSA and Financial Aid presentation is now available on the Mapping Your Future YouTube channel. In the presentation, Cathy Mueller, Executive Director of Mapping Your Future, presents a high-level overview of

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You can still schedule your financial aid event

By Marlene Seeklander It’s not too late to schedule an event specifically for your students and parents. With the 2025-26 FAFSA available, now is the time to host an event if you haven’t already. You can choose whether to invite your families to school to view the presentation, or the presentation can be online for everyone

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New flyer to help students complete the FAFSA

By Catherine Mueller Although completing the FAFSA is much easier for students and parents, it does help to prepare for some of the questions on the form. One of those questions is determining which parent or parents to invite to the FAFSA. Recently the U.S. Department of Education made its Parent Wizard available on StudentAid.gov to

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Updated scholarship tracking sheet now available

By Marlene Seeklander Applying for scholarships and keeping track of that information doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Mapping Your Future’s scholarship tracking sheet will help students stay organized by helping them keep track of the scholarships they are applying for and the scholarship awards received. In addition, the tracking sheet has a tab, enabling students

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