By Catherine Mueller Although students and parents won’t be able to apply for financial aid until December, there are some things you can do in the meantime to prepare. The U.S. Department of Education announced several weeks ago that it would not release the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) until December 1. In […]
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By Marlene Seeklander In an effort to improve communication with schools and colleges, the Department of Education recently sent an update to key leadership at postsecondary institutions, outlining their work to improve the FAFSA. On September 23, the Department announced that Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona sent a letter to presidents and chancellors to provide an
Secretary of Education letter on improving the FAFSA experience Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Students seeking financial aid for the 2025-26 academic year should plan to complete the FAFSA after December 1, 2024. Normally, the FAFSA is released on October 1, but the U.S. Department of Education is delaying the release of the FAFSA to have time for more testing. The testing is aimed at avoiding some
Students can complete the 2025-26 FAFSA in December Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Schools, colleges, and organizations can now apply to be a part of the next couple of rounds of testing for the 2025-26 FAFSA. The Department of Education announced that community-based organizations, high schools, school districts representing multiple schools, county and state organizations, and higher education institutions can submit an interest form to participate
Another opportunity to test the 2025-26 FAFSA now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander More tools are available for your 2025-26 award year planning. A recent Dear Colleague Letter from the Department details the changes in verification for 2025-26 and provides suggested text for schools to use. According to the Department, the verification process for 2025-26 is essentially unchanged. Federal tax information (FTI) transferred via the FA-DDX
2025-2026 FAFSA information to be verified and acceptable documentation Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander As you start your planning list for the 2025-26 award year, you can add verification requirements to the list. The Department of Education announced the publication of the Federal Register notice outlining the 2025-26 FAFSA information that schools and applicants may be required to verify, including the acceptable documentation.
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By Catherine Mueller You have the freedom to do what you want with your life and knowing that can be both a liberating gift and a heavy burden. Your future is an important one and making decisions now that will last a lifetime can be overwhelming. One of the best ways to make any decision is
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By Catherine Mueller For many students, pursuing a graduate or professional degree can provide important career advantages, but for some students an advanced degree is not possible without financial aid. Whether you plan to pursue a graduate program right after completing your undergrad degree or if you’ve taken a few years off, there are some things
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By Marlene Seeklander Although the 2024-25 FAFSA processing cycle has been underway for months, the Department of Education has just released the 2022 IRS Tax Return Transcript Matrix. The August 29 Electronic Announcement includes the 2022 IRS Tax Return Transcript Matrix in Excel format. The matrix is designed to assist financial aid administrators in mapping the
IRS Tax Return Transcript Matrix for 2024-25 Verification now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Interested community-based organizations (CBOs) can apply to participate in the first beta testing period of the 2025-26 FAFSA. The Department announced that interested CBOs can submit an interest form to participate in the BETA 1 testing period. Interested CBOs will have until the September 5 deadline to submit the interest form and describe
2025-26 FAFSA Beta 1 Interest Form available Read More »
