Financial Aid

The long-awaited changes under the FAFSA Simplification Act will finally see the light of day in December when the U.S. Department of Education releases the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) for the 2024-2025 academic year. One of those changes will be welcome news for grandparents with the means and the desire to help pay for their grandchild’s college education. Previously, any money that grandparents gave a grandchild for college had to be reported as student untaxed income on the FAFSA, potentially lowering…

Now that you have submitted the FAFSA, what’s next? Even though the federal deadline to submit the ‘23/24 FAFSA is 6/30/2024, you will want to submit the FAFSA as early as possible, especially for first-time freshmen. The Department of Education released the FAFSA on October 1st and many families have already completed it or are on the cusp of getting it completed and submitted. Submitting the FAFSA is just step one in the process. Here are 5 steps to take…

Many families think the financial aid process ends once a student accepts a financial aid package and enrolls in college. However, it turns out that contacting a school’s financial aid office can help a student stay in school when that package turns out to not be enough. According to a recent report, money is the most common reason students drop out of college. In 2017, more than 38% of students cited financial pressure as the main reason for discontinuing their studies.…

Your appeal for additional financial aid is not something that begins after you receive your award letter and suddenly realize you can’t afford to pay for your child’s dream school. Your appeal, rather, is one of many components of your overall game plan to pay for college. It can be one of the most important components for lowering college costs.  Here are three important tips for optimizing your merit aid through the appeals process:  Plan your appeal early. It should…