By Marlene Seeklander Because the FAFSA Specifications Guides are such a useful tool, financial aid professionals will want to make note of several recent updates to both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 guides. The Department of Education recently announced updates to several important volumes of the guides, such as Volume 5 – Edits and Rejects and Volume 6 […]
FAFSA Specifications Guides Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander When planning to pay for college, students and parents need to consider both direct and indirect costs. Direct and indirect costs are an important part of the estimated cost of attendance. And while financial aid can cover both types of college expenses, indirect costs is an area where students and parents can save
Direct vs. indirect costs for college Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander More students completed the 2026-27 FAFSA as of late December – at a rate more than double the previous year, according to the Department of Education. In a recent press release, the Department announced that more than 5 million 2026-27 FAFSA forms have been successfully submitted by students and families, an increase of
Historic milestone reached in FAFSA completions Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander At first the request seems like a paradox – you didn’t file a tax return, and the college financial aid office is asking you to prove something you didn’t do. While it may seem unusual to prove that you didn’t file a tax return, you may need to do just that and depending
Five steps to obtain proof of federal tax return non-filing Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander POET is offering scholarships to help students take that big step to pursuing their aspirations. POET, a South Dakota based company that has expanded across the Midwest, is awarding up to $75,000 in scholarships to students who are never satisfied with “good enough” and share POET’s mission to create a brighter future. The
POET offers “Never Satisfied Scholarships” Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Scholarships are a wise investment in a student’s educational career – both for the organization granting the scholarship and the student applying for funds. For students, not only does a scholarship award look great on a resume, it can also reduce the amount of money a student has to borrow to pay for
Scholarship opportunities to help students pay for college Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Sure, sometimes high school students don’t want to invite their parents to something, but in the case of the FAFSA, most students need to invite their parents. Students completing the 2026-27 FAFSA (if they are determined to be dependent students) are asked to invite their parent or parents to contribute to the FAFSA. Students only need to
Contributing to a student’s FAFSA when the invite isn’t received Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Just when you think you have completed all the financial aid applications, your college financial aid office notifies you they need an IRS tax transcript. The request is part of the verification process – something that any postsecondary institution offering federal financial aid must do. College and university financial aid offices are
Why your college may ask for a tax transcript and how to get one Read More »
By Catherine Mueller While several steps have been taken to simplify the FAFSA, students and parents often still have questions about calculating the value of assets. To help students and parents understand and be prepared to answer the asset questions, here are some things to know: To determine the value of an investment, the student or
Things to know when calculating assets for the 2026-27 FAFSA Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students completing the FAFSA now have additional information when deciding which college they may want to attend. In a December 8 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced the implementation of a new lower earnings indicator as part of the FAFSA. This indicator—effective December 7, 2025, and only applicable to first-year undergraduate students—provides
Students completing the FAFSA to be notified about colleges with lower earnings Read More »
