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📌 Before You File the FAFSA

The new Simplified FAFSA is here! Here’s a quick video with some tips that will help you get through it with a minimum of chaos and maximum of financial aid. 🔗

Most recent posts

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Why Advisors Don't Recommend 529s
Why Advisors Don't Recommend 529s

A lot of financial advisors tell clients not to use 529s for college savings. If that’s what yours says, you might ask whether they’re acting in your best interest.

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Form 1098-T and 1099-Q
Form 1098-T and 1099-Q

Form 1098-T is a tuition statement that students receive from their college. It serves two primary purposes:

  • Documenting eligibility to claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit

  • Documenting that the student was enrolled in a college and that 529 withdrawals up to net cost of attendance are therefore qualified

Form 1098-T isn't filed with your taxes; instead, you use the information to file and then keep it for your records.

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The Truth About 529s and Financial Aid
The Truth About 529s and Financial Aid

What’s the secret sauce of 529s? It’s how great they are for financial aid purposes.

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New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions

Happy 2026! Last year I made a New Year’s Resolution and kept it. That makes me a self-appointed expert on New Year’s resolutions. Here are some resolutions for parents planning for college— and my expert advice on how to keep your resolutions.

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Using Your 529's Gifting Page
Using Your 529's Gifting Page

If you really mean it when you say, “Please, no more toys!” you need to set up your 529’s gifting page.

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Make Your List, Check It Twice
Make Your List, Check It Twice

Applying to colleges this year? Here’s a last-minute checklist to make sure you end up with good choices.

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Highlights

Featured
New Year’s Resolutions

Happy 2026! Last year I made a New Year’s Resolution and kept it. That makes me a self-appointed expert on New Year’s resolutions. Here are some resolutions for parents planning for college— and my expert advice on how to keep your resolutions.

FAFSA and CSS Profile Info for Divorced Parents

Filing the FAFSA and CSS Profile raises tons of questions for divorced parents. Here are some answers.

Comparing Financial Aid Awards

We’re almost there: acceptance letters are arriving and the May 1 decision day is right around the corner. For most families, how much schools cost is part of the decision making process.

FAFSA: Is it an Asset?

What is and isn’t an asset on the FAFSA? Here’s a quick “is it or isn’t it?” for you.

FAFSA Basics: Parent Assets

Parent assets seem to be the area that most families and planners focus on, despite the fact that they typically have the smallest impact on the formula of each of the components. Strategies and tactics to minimize parent assets abound, but for most families these result more in nibbling around the edges than actually making a significant dent in SAI.

Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid

The College Board’s annual Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid report was released recently. Among the headline findings: college tuition prices increased at extremely low rates for the second year in a row, reflecting both a combination of continued impacts of the pandemic and enrollment pressures from demographic trends.

FAFSA Resources

Happy FAFSA Day! Are you completing the FAFSA for the first time this year? While you’re waiting for the site to load, here are some resources that will help you get through it with a minimum of chaos and maximum of financial aid.

New (School) Year’s Resolutions

I think Oregon is one of the last places in the US that starts school after Labor Day so my apologies if you’re no longer in back-to-school mode. Here are some resolutions your family might make for the coming school year. And, here’s hoping they don’t get broken as quickly as the typical New Year’s diet-and-exercise resolutions!

Categories

The FAFSA & CSS Profile

Featured
It’s Graduation Time!
FAFSA Simplification: What You Need to Know 2

Saving for College

Featured
529 Plans: How to get Money Out
It’s Graduation Time!
How Much Should You Save for College?
7 More Uses for 529 Funds
I Bonds for College Savings
Choosing a 529 Plan

Paying for College

Featured
Form 1098-T and 1099-Q
College Tuition Is on Sale!
529 Plans: How to get Money Out
Appealing a Financial Aid Award
Claiming the American Opportunity Tax Credit
Got Work-Study?
 

Student Loans

Featured
Required Reading Alert: Borrowing to Attend Your Top Choice College
It’s Graduation Time!
Student Loan Interest Rates for the 2023-24 School Year
Who is on the hook for student loans?
Student Loans: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Taking out a Student Loan

Application Process

Featured
Appealing a Financial Aid Award
Comparing Financial Aid Awards
It’s Graduation Time!
Colleges Still Have Openings!
Year-End Checklist
Net Price Calculators

Miscellaneous

All blog posts

Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

FAFSA: Just Do It!

Many families skip the FAFSA on the assumption they won’t qualify for need-based aid. While that may or may not be true, there are plenty of other good reasons to fill it out.

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

Lowering Your EFC at the Last Minute

The first step in lowering your EFC is to determine whether or not it’s worth doing. How to do that? Determine if you’re a need-based aid candidate at any of the schools you are serious about.

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

How to Fill out the FAFSA 2: Divorced Parents

Divorce is one of the biggest question areas with the FAFSA. This may be because the FAFSA presents it so simply: it just asks the parents’ marital status; if “Divorced or separated” is chosen, it asks which parent’s information is going to be used.

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

How to Fill out the FAFSA: Income

This is one of those things that seems fairly straightforward but has a definite peeling the onion feel to it. What is Income for purpose of the FAFSA?

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