Student Aid Index (SAI) – 5 things to know

money puzzle

  You fill out the FAFSA, which gives you your Student Aid Index (SAI), which is how much your family will pay for college. Seems simple right? Ah, but like most things with the college process, that is unfortunately not the case. Here are 5 things every family should know about that SAI.   1…

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Insider Tips for the week of December 9, 2023

FAFSA error means less financial aid for families – The new, redesigned FAFSA that will launch by the end of 2023 has a calculation error that will result in most families qualifying for less financial aid than lawmakers intended. Learn more from CIT’s Chris Wills. Insider tips for building the college list (part one) –…

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FAFSA error means less financial aid for families

frustrated male student

  The new, redesigned FAFSA that will launch by the end of 2023 has a calculation error that will result in most families qualifying for less financial aid than lawmakers intended. The legislation that drove the FAFSA overhaul called for an increase to the amount of income that was shielded from the FAFSA calculation, otherwise…

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Insider Tips for the week of November 4, 2023

Capacity-constrained majors and the college list – CIT’s Anne Weber discusses problems posed by “capacity-constrained majors”, and sets forth five possible pathways families may consider to beat this alarming trend when constructing the college list. The complication with FAFSA simplification – The Brookings Institute analyzes how the FAFSA changes will impact different families based on their income and the number of…

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Insider Tips for the week of October 7, 2023

FAFSA delayed – The FAFSA form for students entering or attending college in Fall 2024 would normally open on Oct. 1 but has been delayed until sometime in December due to the significant new changes being implemented. Check out our quick update. 6 questions to ask colleges – Many families are in the process of visiting colleges,…

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FAFSA delayed

man waiting

The FAFSA form for students entering or attending college in Fall 2024 would normally open on Oct. 1, but has been delayed until sometime in December due to the significant new changes being implemented. The Department of Education needs more time to update the application and the various calculations related to the updates. This also…

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4 mistakes families make that increase the cost of college

While the rising cost is certainly a factor, it is often the decisions that families themselves make that cause them to unnecessarily pay more for college than they should (and potentially increase student debt). As hard as it might be, there are instances where a family needs to recognize a college-related decision will cost them…

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FAFSA changes

FAFSA changes passed by Congress

  The COVID relief bill passed at the end of 2020 also included some significant changes to the FAFSA. The changes go into effect for the 2024-25 school year. The FAFSA for that school year opens on October 1, 2023 and will use tax information from 2022. And because the FAFSA is completed each year…

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