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The FAFSA Simplification Act – Upcoming FAFSA Changes
With the FAFSA Simplification Act comes a host of changes to the way federal student...
Video: How to Complete the IDOC Financial Aid Verification Process
How to Complete the IDOC Financial Aid Verification Process The college financial aid application process is...
How Home Equity Affects The CSS Profile
How Home Equity Affects the CSS Profile. Will the equity you’ve built in your home impact...
CAP Report Card – Merit Scholarship Transparency Rankings
The Importance of Transparency College Aid Pro’s (CAP) Mission is to End the Student Debt Crisis...
Pros and Cons of FAFSA’s Data Retrieval Tool
The FAFSA leverages a tool called the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) to make...
College Applications and Financial Aid for Transgender Students
A Transgender Student’s Guide to Shopping, Applying And Paying For College. While more and more students...
IDOC and FAFSA Verification
Getting all of your financial aid forms completed and submitted is a major milestone. A...
Net Price Calculators: Part of the Problem, Not the Solution
Our core belief at CAP is that students and families can make smart, fiscally sound...
FAFSA Changes 2023-24: What You Need To Know
The Federal Student Aid office recently announced FAFSA changes that will go into effect for...
2023-2024 CSS Profile Dos, Don’ts, and Updates
The 2023-2024 CSS Profile is available on October 1, 2022. Before you dive head first...
CAP Data Update! Admissions, Scholarships, and Financial Aid
“Have you started looking at colleges yet?” I remember asking my daughter this question 3...
How to Make a College Education Affordable
Flip or scroll through the news, and it won't take you long to find some...
What Divorced, Separated and Two Household Families Need To Know About the FAFSA and CSS Profile
What Divorced, Separated and Two Household Families Need To Know About the FAFSA and CSS...
Comparing All Student Loan Programs: Private Student Loans vs. Federal Loans
The truth is that most college-bound students and their families will face a funding gap...
Understanding Federal Student Loan Options
Many college-bound families look to federal student loans provided by the U.S. Department of Education...
How much is too much to borrow for college?
For most families, student loans must be part of the college-funding conversation. Through careful planning...
A Quick Guide To The Financial Aid Appeals Process
You can amend your financial aid package based on your student’s application or a change...
How To Navigate Financial Aid Appeals With Your College-Bound Student
Negotiation is an art. Lawyers negotiate contracts, deals, and settlements on behalf of their clients, real...
The Final College Choice – 12 Important Things to Consider
As we get close to May 1, National College Decision Day, the final college choice...
FAFSA Verification – What It Is, How to Handle It, and Why Parents Shouldn’t Freak Out
When applying for financial aid, you are submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid...
Can High SAT Scores Help Your College Admission Chances?
High SAT scores can be very advantageous in your student’s college search process. They can...
Student Loan Forgiveness: What You Need To Know
President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, that a student loan forgiveness plan...
Parents and Dependents: Clarifying Relationships in Financial Aid Reporting
When dependent students apply for financial aid whether through the FAFSA or CSS Profile, they...
The 3 Different Types of Expected Family Contribution Explained
Need-Based Financial Aid Let's drill down a little bit further on need-based financial aid. As a...
FAFSA Mistakes To Avoid
Every October 1st, the FAFSA onslaught begins. Articles and social media posts pop up about...
Quirks of the Financial Aid Application: Answers to Some Common FAFSA Questions
When you think about financial aid, “quirky” might not be the first word that comes...
Applying for Financial Aid: FAFSA and CSS Profile
Today we're talking about applying for financial aid. Let's be honest -- no parent or student...
Getting a Division 1 Athletic Scholarship
Getting a Division 1 athletic scholarship is not an easy task. However, if your student...
Athletic Scholarships 101
Athletic scholarships for college are often misunderstood and assumed to be more available than they...
What are National Merit Scholarships?
Most families in the college application process have heard the term "National Merit Scholarship" float...
Do National Merit Finalists Get Full-Ride Scholarships?
Do National Merit finalists get full-ride scholarships? In some cases, yes! Previously, we wrote about what ACT...
Can My Kid Get a Full-Ride Scholarship?
I was listening to a financial call-in program the other day and the topic of...
What Are Talent Merit Scholarships?
Does your student have a special skill they have developed for years? Have they practiced...
What Are Competitive Merit Scholarships?
When most people think about merit scholarships, they think of a competitive elimination process where...
A National Merit Scholarship Success Story
I always love when parents share a merit scholarship success story! This one is from...
How to Find Full Ride Scholarships
Full-ride scholarships pay the full price of attending a college. This usually includes tuition, fees,...
Top Two Resources for Finding Automatic Merit Scholarships
With the cost of college continuously on the rise, many college-bound students and their parents...
When Your Expected Family Contribution is Too High
When Your Expected Family Contribution is Too High When your expected family contribution is too high...
5 Things Parents Need to Know About Private Scholarships
This was originally written for and published by Saving For College. When families think about bridging...
Pros and Cons Of Test-Optional College Admissions
Pros and Cons Of Test-Optional College Admissions For years, students and parents have railed against the...
All About the Money: 3 Important Financial Questions You Should be Asking When Picking a College
College is an investment. And like all other investments, you should expect to get a great...
Research and Compare 529 Plans
Browse 529 plans by state A 529 Plan is a college savings account that is funded...
What Expenses Can Be Paid from a 529 Plan?
Up to this point, parents have SAVED for college and SHOPPED for college. Suddenly, you...
Grandparents and 529 College Savings Plans: What You Need to Know
Grandparents want to help. They see the expense ahead for their kids to pay for...
What’s a 529 Plan? 5 Easy Ways to Start Saving For College
It’s no secret that college tuition is continuing to increase dramatically year over year. For...
Make College Funding a Breeze: Find These 5 Types of Merit Scholarships
Merit scholarships can be one of the best ways to make college affordable, especially if...
What ACT or SAT Score Will Get You a Full-Ride Scholarship To The School Of Your Dreams?
There are still colleges in the United States that offer full-ride scholarships to attract students...
How Will I Know If I Qualify For Need-Based Financial Aid?
Will we qualify for need-based financial aid for college? – A question on the minds...
What is the FSA ID? Why do you need one?
Thank you for joining us for this brief video with our very own Fairy Godmother...
Prior-Prior Year (PPY) : What It Is and Why It Matters to College Financial Aid
It seems like in the world of financial aid there's always one question that bubbles...
Understanding the Expected Family Contribution in FAFSA
Have you heard the term Expected Family Contribution on TV or on social media and...
How The Class of 2023 Can Pave An Affordable Path To College
If you’re the parent of a rising high school junior or senior, this blog is...
Does Saving for College Reduce Financial Aid?
Parents regularly express frustration to me, for having been penalized for saving for their child’s...
What You Need to Know About College Application Season
The fall 2023 enrollment season is here! This time brings a flurry of excitement, nerves,...
Winning the College Finance Game: Maximize Your Family’s Financial Aid Package
First thing's first – don’t feel ashamed if you’re more than a little intimidated by...
Do You Still Need Strong Test Scores for College?
How much do your standardized test scores matter? The short answer: A lot. But it’s complicated. SAT...