By Marlene Seeklander Institutions 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 Question 11 […]
FAFSA Question 11 updated Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander While many students and parents are completing the 2025-26 FAFSA, the Department of Education is already looking ahead to next year’s FAFSA. Now is your opportunity to submit comments to the Department of Education about the proposed draft 2026-27 FAFSA form and FAFSA Submission Summary. In an Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education
Draft 2026-27 FAFSA application materials available for comment Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander A key component of the FAFSA – the Federal School Code List – has been updated by the Department of Education. The Department announced the availability of the updated 2025–26 Federal School Code (FSC) List of Participating Schools. Students sometimes enter these codes on the FAFSA in order for the postsecondary schools to
Updated 2025-26 Federal School Code List now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students often have lots of questions about “what happens next” with the financial aid process. The general answer to all the questions is students who have submitted a FAFSA have now taken their first step to determine eligibility for financial aid. There are many specific things that happen now that a FAFSA has
What happens after you submit the FAFSA? Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Anyone can get confused about which tax year to use for the FAFSA. The key to knowing which year to use is to subtract two from the beginning of the academic year. It’s often referred to as “prior-prior” year tax information. For example, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the
The key to knowing which tax year to use on the FAFSA Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander It’s okay if you’re not entirely sure where you plan to go to college when completing the FAFSA. You can go ahead and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) even if you haven’t made a firm decision on where you plan to go to college. The FAFSA is designed so
The complete guide to adding or deleting colleges on your FAFSA Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Schools have to wait a little longer before they can process batch corrections, but the functionality may be on the horizon. The Department of Education recently announced that over the next few weeks they will work with a group of institutions and their vendors to test batch corrections. After the beta testing is
Batch corrections processing timeline update Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Not claimed as a dependent on your parent’s taxes? You may still be a dependent when it comes to applying for federal financial aid. Confusion over why a student is considered dependent on a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) when they are not claimed as a dependent on the parent’s tax
What does dependent mean for the FAFSA? Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals can kick off their 2025-26 planning and processing with some training offered by the Department of Education. The Federal Student Aid Training Center recently announced that they have updated the FAFSA simplification Trending Topic Series with the 2025-26 changes. Topics include: To sign up for the training: Training related questions
2025-26 changes incorporated into FAFSA Simplification Training Topics Series Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students and parents setting up an FSA ID find it easy to do so, but there are some important tips to avoid account problems in the future. Setting up an FSA ID (also known as creating a StudentAid.gov account) is the first step to complete the FAFSA. To assist students and parents with
Create your StudentAid.gov account updated flyer available Read More »
