Tip of the Week

Tip of the Week Updating interest rates New student loan borrowers will be facing higher interest rates starting July 1. To help students know the upcoming July 1 interest rates, Mapping Your Future staff recently updated several references to interest rates. The new rates were announced in a May 14 Electronic Announcement. Updates were completed on […]

Tip of the Week A good life One of the last times I was with my mother, I took her to the family farm. It was a beautiful fall day, and we knew that this trip to the farm might be her last. As we headed back to the city, nature treated us to a

Tip of the Week No easy decisions And that commitment – both from students and from financial aid professionals – should not be taken lightly. When we see darkly – when we don’t have enough information – making a decision is difficult. That’s not only true for students today on college decision day but also

Tip of the Week Missing the trees for the forest The very air we breathe is their gift to us. Trees produce half of the oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere, meaning we wouldn’t be able to live without them. And yet, while being an oxygen-giving plant is pretty important – there’s so much more we

Encouraging FAFSA completion The 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) season has been a complicated one, but there is still time for students to complete the FAFSA. As of April 5, approximately 28 percent of the high school class of 2024 have completed a FAFSA. To promote FAFSA completion, the Biden-Harris Administration is

Push to increase FAFSA completion before graduation For high school seniors, the next few weeks will be critical to getting their FAFSA completed. As of March 29, approximately 35 percent of the high school class of 2024 have submitted a FAFSA, a 27 percent drop in completions compared to the same period last year –

In times of darkness In ancient times, it was a bad omen. An eclipse was often seen as it’s time to pack up and leave, according to Tyler Nordgren, an astronomer, author and artist, quoted in this Smithsonian article about how ancient civilizations reacted to eclipses. It’s not unlike how many financial aid professionals are

Tip of the Week Addressing those other items on your to-do list The FAFSA is getting a lot of our attention and rightfully so. However, Mapping Your Future recognizes that you have a lot of other responsibilities in addition to helping incoming students. With graduation just weeks away, you may be preparing your graduating and

Tip of the Week Fear of the uncertain Uncertainty is a common theme in higher education and financial aid, especially this month with anticipating ISIRs, preparing to package aid, and encouraging FAFSA completion, not to mention reflecting on what this week looked like four years ago at the beginning of the pandemic. However, the chaos

Tip of the Week Your brain on dogs If you’ve been forgetting more things lately, like missing a shoe, losing your keys, or leaving your phone somewhere, don’t worry – it’s normal. It’s your body’s natural reaction to the stress you’ve experienced over the last several months (or maybe years) with all the financial aid