Misty makes some excellent points in this video, especially for families who are applying for financial aid for the first time. She mentions that the FAFSA is free, and we can’t stress this enough! For families who have questions about the FAFSA, feel free to pose a question to the financial aid experts at FinancialAidForum.com, or check out some of the other common questions from families.
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It’s FAFSA season again, and thanks to FAFSAOnline.com, we’re providing students and families with a downloadable FAFSA Help Guide to the online form. This detailed guide will answer the most common questions about filing the FAFSA, as well as provide some useful tips to help you get the most financial aid. Best of all, it’s free!
What information can you find in the FAFSA guide?
And much more!
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The Department of Education has been making great strides in streamlining the often-confusing online FAFSA form. This year, students and parents should find it much easier to navigate through the process, as well as collect the information necessary to file the form.
Here’s what you can expect to find in the improved 2012-2013 FAFSA:
I recently released my co-signer (my dad) from the burden of being responsible for my student loan payments. A co-signer is responsible for the payment of a student loan if the student who ‘owned the loan’ was unable to make payments, and deferment or forbearance wasn’t an option.
I thought this would be an easy, no ceremony (or notification) process needed. I didn’t realize how big of a deal this can be to your co-signer, the relief, and the adult-like responsibility you embody when you complete this process.
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This past Monday, President Obama held a roundtable to discuss the college affordability crisis. Attendees included Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and a dozen leaders in higher education from college presidents, to nonprofit heads. The list of attendees is noteworthy, because everyone in attendance has already made strides in making a college degree affordable and attainable for students.
For example, Dr. Robert Mendenhall, President of Western Governor’s University, was one of the presidents in attendance and has helped develop a tuition model unlike most others. Instead of charging tuition per credit, WGU charges a flat rate tuition for a six-month period. Here’s how WGU describes their tuition and costs:
“WGU treats all students as “full-time” and charges tuition at a flat rate regardless of the number of competency units (credit equivalents) attempted or completed by the student. The “standard term” is based upon a full-time enrollment of at least 12 competency units for undergraduate (bachelor’s) students and 8 competency units for graduate (master’s) students. Students who complete more or fewer units are charged the same tuition rates”
The IRS data Retrieval tool is a helpful resource for many parents and students filing the FAFSA. The tool allows first-time and returning applicants to pull their tax data directly from the Internal Revenue Service in order to auto-fill the tax portion of the form.
The tool works for about 80% of all filers, but in some special cases, tax information should still be inputted manually. If you meet the criteria below, then feel free to use the tool!
Filers need:
The Occupy Wall Street movement has been going on for a couple of months now, and as I’m sure many are aware, the subgroup of Occupy Student Debt has captured the media’s attention. With tuition at astronomical numbers, and unemployment at a high rate, many students and graduates are unable to repay their loans. Because of this, OSD has a new plan to encourage higher ed reform: refusing loan repayment. In the Inside Higher Ed article Refusing to Pay, Libby Nelson writes:
“Most experts, even those who agree with the movement’s aims, would describe these goals as unattainable. The theory behind the campaign is that if 1 million students refuse to pay, they would face minimal consequences due to safety in numbers. But many experts on student finance worry about the impact on anyone who stops paying: student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy; lenders — especially the federal government — will go to great lengths to go after debt; and some borrowers currently frustrated by their debt may not realize the impact of non-payment on future financial goals.”
Student loan default can have massive consequences to the borrower, and it’s important to know what your options are if you cannot afford your loan payments.
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Starting Saturday, November 19th, 2011 some of the major loan servicing websites of the Department of Education will be down for site maintenance and upgrade purposes. The downtime will begin at 3 am Eastern Time on Saturday and will end Sunday at 11 am ET.
Affected sites:
If you’re trying to access these websites during the outage time, you will see an error message, and this is to be expected, so don’t worry!
For more information on this outage, view the Dept. of Education’s announcement.
Let’s face it, financial aid is not the easiest process to understand. Keeping track of state, federal, and private deadlines is tough enough, forget all of the other research that goes into funding your education. To help you navigate the process, we’ve compiled a financial aid roadmap.
This infographic takes you from childhood, to graduation, and helps you remember the important financial aid dates. To get started on your college funding plan, or to make sure you’re on track, check it out!
January is quickly approaching, and you know what that means? FAFSA season. Filing your FAFSA is a critical step in the financial aid process. However, if you have never applied for financial aid before, everything can get overwhelming, and fast! This is why you should know your options beforehand. You can then apply directly to a loan lender.
Scholarships and grants
Private scholarships and grants have individual applications and deadlines. While the application process can be time-consuming, every little bit helps!
Federal aid
The FAFSA is your application for all of the federal types of financial aid listed above. Students need to submit it starting January 1st of each year, and the sooner you file, the better!
Private loans
If you’ve exhausted your scholarship and federal aid resources, then it’s time to apply for a private loan. Each lender will have different interest rates and benefits, so it helps to compare your loan options to find what’s best for you.
For more information on the different types of financial aid and for a helpful financial aid calendar, check out our Financial Aid 101 eBook.
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