Will the FAFSA Changes Affect You?

College students and their parents are accustomed to filling out the yearly Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This is usually a pretty straightforward, if not drawn-out, process. But in today’s society students have many different types of home living arrangements which can cause problems when completing these forms. Trying to answer the seemingly-simple question of “who is my parent?” can become a matter of splitting regulatory hairs. Questions about stepparents, adoptive parents and parents in same sex marriages cloud the information students can supply and may affect their... Read The Rest →

What is the SAR Report?

The SAR (Student Aid Report) is generated by the office of Federal Student Aid at the U.S. Department of Education based on information you provided in your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Depending on their workload, you should usually receive your SAR anywhere from three days to three weeks after you have submitted your application. Be sure to watch your email if you have provided an email address. Or you can also login at FAFSA on the Web to view your SAR information. The SAR will contain information... Read The Rest →

Financial Aid on the Web

Today’s guest, Justin Chase Brown, is a Financial Aid Associate Director at a major 4-year public university working with over 30,000 students.  Justin grew up and attended/graduated college in Texas and moved to the Midwest shortly thereafter, working in financial aid.  He was a financial aid recipient for undergrad and graduate school and has been assisting students with filing the FAFSA for over 7 years. Last July, Federal Student Aid updated their website and consolidated it to studentaid.gov, and also developed it for mobile use.  The new studentaid.gov site is... Read The Rest →

Your Guide to Financial Aid Award Letters

The financial aid award letter tells you how much financial support the school can give you for the coming year.  You will receive a financial aid award letter from all schools where you have been accepted and from which you requested financial aid. Award letters tell you exactly how much financial support the school is able to provide for the upcoming year. In general, the school computes the award based on the information you provided in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As you may recall, after you... Read The Rest →

Do You Know What Your EFC Is?

An EFC is a dollar figure that represents what a family is expected to be able to afford to pay for one year of a child’s college costs. Financial aid methodologies are used to calculate a family’s EFC. If you’ve got teenagers who expect to attend college, knowing your Expected Family Contribution is critical. The good news is that it’s easy enough to generate your EFC and you’ll learn shortly where you can obtain it. If you are making less than $30,000 a year, it’s highly likely that your EFC... Read The Rest →

Financial Aid Calendar: Apply Early and Meet Your Deadlines

Millions of families apply for financial aid successfully each year, and approximately two-thirds of full-time college students receive some type of aid. So, what’s the best way to get financial aid?  Start by researching available programs, policies and deadlines. Next, follow the procedures rigorously and make sure all deadlines are met. Note:  This calendar is only a general guide and does not apply to all colleges. Consult financial aid materials, financial aid offices and individual websites for the specific requirements and deadlines for each of your colleges. The Summer Before... Read The Rest →

#CollegeCash Chat #2 September 8, 2011

Wondering what is the #CollegeCash hashtag all about? Jodi Okun founded College Financial Aid Advisors (CFAA) to provide one on one service to parents going about the very complicated process of funding college for their children. Everyone wants the best education possible for their children but may not be able to finance it without assistance from a professional; this is where Jodi comes into the picture. Jodi has worked with prospective college students and parents from all over the country to help their dream of a higher education come true.... Read The Rest →