Tip of the Week

Tip of the Week ED releases 2025-26 College Financing Plan As you prepare for the 2025-26 award year, you may want to implement the new College Financing Plan template. The Department of Education recently announced the release of the 2025-26 College Financing Plan (CFP), formerly known as the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, a tool that […]

Tip of the Week Reminder of a post-holiday deadline Not to ruin the upcoming holidays for anyone but maybe this reminder can help you get ahead of things. The Department of Education issued an Electronic Announcement on November 13, reminding schools of two Financial Value Transparency/Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) requirements that must be completed by January

Tip of the Week An offering of thanks to our veterans To those veterans who have sacrificed and served our country, we owe much. Veterans’ educational benefits is one way as a country we can express our gratitude. But understanding veteran education benefits can be a challenge – especially with different programs, different eligibility criteria

Tip of the Week 2025–26 FAFSA Form Preview Presentation Now is the time to update your financial aid night presentation and training materials with the 2025-26 screenshots. The Department of Education has released a PowerPoint presentation and PDF file that includes information and screenshots of the 2025-26 FAFSA. The presentation includes scenarios for the initial

Tip of the Week Who’s my FAFSA parent? It’s a critical step and one that sometimes can be fraught with emotion. Determining which parent contributes to the FAFSA can create a challenge for students. And, for some, it’s better to determine which parent should contribute to the FAFSA before sitting down to complete the application.

Tip of the Week Happy Financial Aid Day Over time, I realized I had “been bitten by the financial aid bug.” This was a career field I wanted to continue in and advance myself. I’ve always said that people either like working in financial aid or they don’t. If they don’t, they move on to

Tip of the Week Hurricane Relief The phone call was both a relief and gut-wrenching at the same time. The year was 2005 and, due to his work, my brother was one of the last to evacuate the Houston area as Hurricane Rita was set to hit landfall in a matter of hours. When the

Tip of the Week A hand up Hardly anyone gets through college without help from someone else. That help often comes in the form of money to pay for college. And if it’s not money from parents or other relatives, it’s often scholarships that help students persist and graduate from college. There are a lot

Tip of the Week The impact through the years A long-time family friend recently turned 100 years old. It gave me pause to think about all he has seen and experienced in his 100 years and the impact it has had on his life. There have been several wars involving the United States, the moon