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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. 🔗

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

2024 Rhodes Scholars

Rhodes Scholars are announced annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and this year’s recipients once again represent a diverse group of colleges.

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

FAFSA Updates - Big News!

Recent guidance from the Department of Education includes an actual date for the FAFSA and a welcome change to 529s in the formula.

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

Here’s What Counts

I’ve spent a big chunk of this fall speaking to a variety of groups about college planning. Here are the most important pieces of the plan.

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Getting Started Ann Garcia Getting Started Ann Garcia

FAFSA vs CSS Profile

I write a lot about the FAFSA, but there’s a second financial aid form that’s also important: the CSS Profile. While all schools use the FAFSA to allocate federal funds such as Direct Student Loans, a subset of schools– primarily private schools– use the CSS Profile in their financial aid calculations. There are a few key differences between the two forms.

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

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.

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

Does College Make You a Better Person?

College provides a lot of economic benefits— better wages and lower unemployment rates at the top of the list. But does college make you a better person, too? Survey says Yes!

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

The Three Types of Scholarships

Every college offers scholarships. Every student is eligible for scholarships. But not every student will be offered scholarships at every college. Here’s how to find colleges that will give scholarships to you.

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Ann Garcia Ann Garcia

A Roadmap for Student Success

Got a soon-to-be college student? Louis E. Newman, former dean of academic advising at Stanford and professor at Carleton College, shares strategies and tactics to get the most out of your college experience, from making friends to adjusting to college academics and engaging with faculty.

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