Transferring Colleges

2 students with boxes at a college dorm.

Transferring colleges can be a good choice if it’s done for valid reasons. It can be disastrous when done for the wrong reasons.

Recently, I performed a quick cost-benefit analysis for a parent.

The family lives in New Jersey. The student wanted to transfer from his current NJ state school to a school in upstate New York.

The son proffered that the upstate NY school has a better program for his major, Computer Science.College Walkway

The mother was aware of the potential financial issues a transfer would cause but needed to see it on paper.

After crunching the numbers, which included out-of-state tuition charges, loss of NJ state aid, airfare, or another mode of travel, the costs were clear.

A transfer would have been a minimum of an additional $20,000.

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Categories: High School Seniors | College Students

For College-Bound High School Seniors

Sign with arrow pointing to college Admissions Office.

College-bound High School Seniors Finish Strong

It’s an exciting time. You’ve either already received your early decision acceptance letter, or yoCollege-bound High School Senioru’re waiting to hear from colleges about your regular decision applications.

Being admitted to college validates that your hard work has paid off and launches you into the next phase of your life as long as you don’t stumble at the finish line.

An admittance letter is not an iron-clad contract. Read that letter carefully, and you’ll discover it’s loaded with caveats.

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Categories: High School Seniors | College Students

FAFSA 2024-25 Rundown

Update on the FAFSA 2024-25 Applicati

The 2024-25 FAFSA

UPDATED: 12/07/23 & 11/26/24

Key FAFSA Changes Not Previously Reported

  • With the launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA application, students have more control.
  • The student must initiate the application process.
  • If parent/guardian information is required, each parent must be invited as a contributor.
  • Any application that is dormant for 45 days will be deleted. The student will be required to start from the beginning.

We’ve added three new reference links to the end of this post.

This just in on 11/15/23

The improved FAFSA form will be available for students and parents by Dec. 31, 2023. Students who complete the form will receive a confirmation and see their estimated student aid eligibility. 

This just 11/14/24

The improved FAFSA form will be available for students and parents by Dec. 31, 2023. Students who complete the form will receive a confirmation and see their estimated student aid eligibility. 

If you’ve had trouble keeping up with the changes to college financial aid, here’s a FAFSA 2024-25 rundown.

We’ve compiled a list of the most pertinent changes affecting students and families. We examined many of them in previous videos and posts but included a few previously unreferenced revisions in this post.

Some of the changes were phased in over the last two years. The ones specific to the 2024-25 school year are noted.

***UPDATE: The U.S. Department of Education announced that the FAFSA application for the 2024-25 school year will be released in December – not October 1.***

Institutional Preparation is Underway

On September 29, 2023, a prototype of the 2024-25 FAFSA was released to FSA Partners (for college financial aid administrators). It has limited functionality, but it signals some progress is being made. 

Additional information and preparation continue for financial aid administrators, but as of 11/03/23, there is no update on when the new application will be released to the public.

It is unclear what impact a November government shutdown will have on the release and processing of FAFSA applications, but a negative impact is likely.

McCarthy’s Ouster Raises Likelihood of a Government Shutdown (msn.com)

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Categories: Financial Aid High School Seniors | College Students

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