By Marlene Seeklander For some students, one of the most challenging parts of the FAFSA is knowing which parent to invite as a contributor. The Department of Education provides a parent wizard tool available outside of the FAFSA form, making it easier for students, families, and others to make this determination ahead of time. In addition, Mapping Your
Determining the parent for the 2027-28 FAFSA Read More »
Tip of the Week The all-too familiar feeling of working in financial aid The following feelings may be all too familiar to you: your heart starts racing, you feel the tension rising in your neck and shoulders, or your heart starts beating rapidly. With all the changes and confusion with financial aid recently, it’s probably
Tip of the Week – November 4, 2026 Read More »
Tip of the Week Embrace your fears An audit finding. A missed deadline. A misplaced decimal point. Now those are some frights that will really chill you to the bone. These nightmares haunt the bravest of financial aid professionals. If you work in financial aid, you know there’s enough real-world scares to last you a
Tip of the Week – October 28, 2026 Read More »
Tip of the Week Happy Financial Aid Day 2026 Happenstance. It’s how many of us ended up working in financial aid. As high school students, most of us did not list working in financial aid as a future career goal. It may have been a work study position in college that became a full-time opportunity
Tip of the Week – October 21, 2026 Read More »
Tip of the Week Just give it time As years go by, a lot changes with time. And, yet there are great works of art, literature, or entertainment that have endured and are relevant to us today. Take, for example, the 70’s sitcom, Barney Miller. Okay, I know – some critics probably don’t include it
Tip of the Week – October 14, 2026 Read More »
Tip of the Week Dealing with student loan nonrepayment It’s not just a financial aid office issue. While higher education institutions are dealing with recruitment, enrollment and retention on the front end, student loan default is sneaking up on the back end. The FY 2023 default rates were just released last week and remain low
Tip of the Week – October 7, 2026 Read More »
By Catherine Mueller One look at a college’s sticker price and many students and their parents wonder how they will ever be able to afford higher education. The good news is that most students do not end up paying the full sticker price for college. That’s because many students receive some form of financial aid from
The difference between sticker price and what you will pay for college Read More »
Tip of the Week Student loan borrowers have additional time to enroll in auto pay Student loan borrowers have an additional three months to enroll in auto pay and receive a one percent interest rate reduction benefit. Auto pay allows the student loan servicer to automatically deduct the monthly student loan payment directly from the
Tip of the Week – September 30, 2026 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander With all the changes to federal financial aid, students and parents need a plan to pay for college – now more than ever. Cathy Mueller, executive director of Mapping Your Future, discussed paying for college and other college planning topics recently on the Broadcast Retirement Network’s podcast. Entitled “How to Afford College in
Planning how to pay for college – topic of podcast program featuring Mapping Your Future Read More »
Tip of the Week Mapping Your Future offers FAFSA video presentation in preparation for the 2027-28 FAFSA Although the FAFSA application is much simpler to complete, financial aid remains a complex topic for students and parents. With the release of the 2027-28 FAFSA just around the corner, Mapping Your Future recorded a financial aid presentation
Tip of the Week – September 23, 2026 Read More »
