By Marlene Seeklander After the admissions acceptance letter, the financial aid offer is probably second when it comes to those highly anticipated notices from a college. For some students, getting admitted is just the first hurdle to overcome. Knowing they will get the financial aid they need can be critical to pursuing their education. After all, […]
5 things to look for in a financial aid offer Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander 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 2025-26 FAFSA (if they are determined to be dependent students) are asked to invite their parent or parents to contribute to the FAFSA. Students need to provide
Contributing to a FAFSA when the invite isn’t received Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander When it comes to getting money for college, scholarships can be critical. Even a small scholarship could mean the difference between being able to continue postsecondary education or having to withdraw. Mapping Your Future’s “Four Components of a Successful Scholarship Strategy” webinar will address tips and techniques for applying for scholarships. The webinar
Keys to a successful scholarship strategy topic of upcoming webinar Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander During Financial Literacy Month in April, Mapping Your Future encourages you to use its financial literacy tools and share the tools and resources with your students: Contact the Mapping Your Future staff at feedback@mappingyourfuture.org or (800) 374-4072 with any questions.
Mapping Your Future offers a variety of financial literacy tools Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Although every school or college has its own unique identity, sometimes its name can be similar to another institution. For that reason, in addition to the names, there is also a not-so-secret code for schools, and it’s a good idea to know how to find out these school codes before you apply for
Knowing the code could be an important key to financial aid Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Most of us need a nudge every once in a while, a little reminder to do something important like, maybe, completing the FAFSA. Students who completed FAFSAs in the last couple of years are receiving reminders from the Department of Education that the 2025-26 FAFSA is ready for them to complete. And the
2025-26 FAFSA reminder campaign underway Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Another important piece of the 2025-26 award year processing will soon be in place. The Department of Education announced that on March 23 they will implement the functionality to support Campus-Based programs and the processing of Pell Grant, TEACH, and Direct Loan awards for the 2025-26 award year in the Common Origination and
2025–26 award year COD System implementation Read More »
By Catherine Mueller After successfully completing your FAFSA, you should celebrate your accomplishment. However, don’t celebrate so much that you forget you will have other tasks to complete. One of those tasks is to review your FAFSA Submission Summary. One to three days after a student submits a 2025-26 FAFSA (and provided a valid email address),
Six things to check on your FAFSA Submission Summary Read More »
By Catherine Mueller It’s no longer just a matter of “done” or “not done” when considering the status of your financial aid application. It’s important to understand the different status updates to determine if you need to take any action. When you log in to your account at StudentAid.gov, the status of your application will be one
Understanding your FAFSA status Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students and families will want to take note of a recent update to one of the FAFSA questions. The Department of Education announced an update made to the FAFSA to comply with President Trump’s Executive Order, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. The update to
FAFSA Question 11 updated Read More »
