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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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Waitlisted?
Waitlisted?

Did you get waitlisted at your top choice college? Here’s what you need to know about that.

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Why College
Why College

Here's a suggestion: instead of focusing on which college your student should go to, think about why you want them to go to college.

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Appealing a Financial Aid Award
Appealing a Financial Aid Award

About 3/4 of families who appeal their financial aid award receive additional aid. Yet less than half appeal. Here’s how to get more money from the colleges you’re considering.

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Comparing Financial Aid Awards
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.

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Trump Accounts
Trump Accounts

530A Accounts, aka Trump Accounts, are being touted as an education savings vehicle. Are they your best choice for education savings?

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Got Work-Study?
Got Work-Study?

Work study falls under the self-help column of financial aid. If your aid award includes work-study, you should understand what it is.

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Highlights

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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.

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.

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

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

Saving for College

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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

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

Student Loans

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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

UTMAs and the FAFSA

UTMA accounts are great for a lot of things. Financial aid isn't one of them. Here's what you need to know if your student has a UTMA.

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