NASFAA in the News

• For-Profit Colleges Fight Exclusion From Pell Grant Increase in Biden’s Spending Bill
  November 23, 2021 - "For-profit colleges are fighting for their students to be eligible for increased federal financial aid in President Biden’s Build Back Better package after House Democrats passed legislation excluding the sector from new Pel...
• Opposition to For-Profit Exclusion From Pell Increase Continues
  November 22, 2021 - "A long-awaited increase to the maximum Pell Grant was passed by the House of Representatives Friday, but with a catch—it will only be available to students attending nonprofit institutions. The provision has raised questions about the appropri...
• You’re More Likely to Have Your FAFSA Verified Than to Have Your Taxes Audited—Here’s Why
  November 19, 2021 - "Current and prospective college students can now complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, for their share of $150 billion in federal student aid — including grants, scholarships, loans and work-study — f...
• Student Loan Payments Are Starting Back Up: Are You Prepared?
  November 15, 2021 - "Federal student loan payments are restarting after January 31st, 2022. Recalibrating your budget, switching your repayment plan, and contacting your servicer are some of the things you can do to ensure you’re repayment-ready," moneyunder30.com...
• Democrats’ Bill Would Deny For-Profit College Students Extra Aid
  November 12, 2021 - "When Megan Kern decided she wanted to enroll in Pima Medical Institute, in Phoenix last year, its tax status was the furthest thing from her mind," The New York Times reports. 
• Relieving the Verification Burden
  November 11, 2021 - "Each year, millions of students who receive federal financial aid are required to undergo an additional review of their financial information by the Department of Education called verification, a process that has proven to be burdensome for bot...
• Biden Plan Draws Wide Ire for Excluding For-Profit Colleges From Pell Increase
  November 10, 2021 - "Months of failed haggling between the White House and the moderate Democratic wing over President Joe Biden's signature spending plan recently yielded a new, scaled back iteration — with a surprising inclusion," Education Dive reports. 
• House Members Urge Inclusion of For-Profits in Pell Increase
  November 9, 2021 - "A group of 13 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to leaders in the House of Representatives last Friday asking them to revise a part of the Build Back Better Act that extends a boost in the Pell Grant award only to students who attend nonp...
• New NCAN and NASFAA Report: FAFSA Verification Solutions From the Field
  November 8, 2021 - "It’s FAFSA season again for high school seniors, others aspiring to postsecondary education, and current college students. A completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the necessary ticket that makes college possible for mil...
• Higher Ed Groups Call for Quick Changes to FAFSA Verification
  November 8, 2021 - "The federal government should use data it possesses and share it among agencies to alleviate burdens on administrators and on financial aid applicants selected for an audit process known as verification, according to a report published Monday," Educ...
• The Impacts of the $1.7 Trillion Spending Plan on Higher Education
  November 5, 2021 - "After weeks of negotiations and adjustments, which included the elimination of free community college tuition, Democrats in the House of Representatives were poised to approve the $1.75 trillion social spending bill Friday that includes transformati...
• Fafsa May Be Tricky This Year for College Students and Parents
  November 4, 2021 - "It is Fafsa time again, when parents and students fill out the required financial disclosure for college financial aid. For some parents, the economic environment—as well as various changes in the rules—makes it especially important that...
• Report: Increasing Pell Would Easily Expand Eligibility
  November 3, 2021 - "Lawmakers don’t need to decide between increasing Pell Grants for lower-income students or expanding eligibility to more middle-income students, because boosting the maximum award would accomplish both, according to a new report by the Nationa...
• Politico Report Roundup
  November 3, 2021 - "The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators set out its case for how increased funding for Pell Grants benefits middle-income families, in addition to its long-standing support of low-income students," Politico reports.&nbs...
• Financial Aid Offices Face Staffing Shortages
  November 2, 2021 - "When student aid was disbursed at the beginning of the fall semester, the financial aid office at the University of Texas at Arlington just couldn’t keep up. Emails and phone calls from students and parents poured into the office. And even tho...
• What’s the Deal With Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
  November 2, 2021 - "Beth is joined by Justin Draeger, the president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), to discuss the fraught Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program: what it is, why it exists, how it’s working, a...
• What's In Biden's Latest Budget Offer: Climate Programs and Universal Preschool, But No Paid Leave
  October 28, 2021 - "President Joe Biden delivered his latest offer to Congress on his plan to expand safety-net and climate change programs Thursday, the result of months of talks with lawmakers to pare down his original proposal," USA Today reports. 
• Free Community College is Out of Biden's Plan, but a Bigger Pell Grant Could Still Help Cut Costs
  October 24, 2021 - "President Joe Biden's plan to make tuition free at community colleges is unlikely to make it into the final bill to expand the nation's social safety net. But boosting the federal Pell grant is still on the table and could have a big impac...
• Attending College Next Year? It’s Time to File Your FAFSA to Find Out About Financial Assistance
  October 19, 2021 - "A college degree has never been more expensive. While some schools limited tuition increases during the pandemic, the price tag for a diploma continues to climb at many," Checkbook reports.
• Important Things You Should Know About State Aid
  October 19, 2021 - "Many students need financial aid to afford college, and most tend to assume it only comes from the federal government. But did you know attending college in your home state can offer benefits beyond simply paying in-state tuition rates?" Collegexpre...
• Recap: First Week of Negotiated Rule Making
  October 12, 2021 - "The Department of Education held its first negotiated rule-making session of the Biden administration last week, during which stakeholders discussed their views on potential changes to several federal student aid programs, including closed-college d...
• What’s New on the 2022-2023 FAFSA
  October 7, 2021 - "The 2022-2023 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, opened Oct. 1 with a new online design and a few tweaks to financial information questions," WTOP news reports.
• For Their Next Trick, Department of Ed Will Make 550,000 Student Loans Disappear
  October 7, 2021 - "When the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) started in 2007, the intention was presumably not to make qualification as exclusive as the Met gala. Unfortunately for the Department of Education, less than ...
• Dept. of Education Overhauls Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
  October 6, 2021 - "The US Department of Education announced major changes Wednesday to a federal student loan forgiveness program," ABC News reports.
• The FAFSA Opens Today. What Families Need to Know About Applying for Federal Student Aid
  October 4, 2021 - "Oct. 1 marks the start of the annual college financial aid application cycle, as families can start filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for next year," Money reports.
• FAFSA Applications Are Open, With Some Big Changes
  October 1, 2021 - "FAFSA applications have been down during the pandemic, and there have been some recent changes to the form. This year's applications open Oct. 1," NPR reports. 
• What the Debt Ceiling Debate Means for Higher Ed
  September 28, 2021 - "At the same time that Congress is trying to keep the federal government from shutting down at the end of this week, it’s also facing a deadline to keep the United States from defaulting on its loans -- a never-before-seen outcome that would im...
• Will Higher Ed Feel the Effects of a Federal Shutdown?
  September 27, 2021 - "The potential for a government shutdown is growing as the end of the month -- and the federal government’s fiscal year -- draws closer. But even if Congress is unable to continue funding the government, the impact of a shutdown on higher educa...
• 10 Tips to Help You Graduate College Less Broke
  September 21, 2021 - "College is expensive. Very expensive. By doing things like getting "free" money, starting a side hustle, and watching your credit card usage, you can graduate a little less broke," moneyunder30.com reports. 
• What’s Changing in the New FAFSA and What’s Not
  September 17, 2021 - "Big changes are coming to a notoriously complex form that students need to submit to qualify for college financial aid — but the changes will mostly appear gradually, over the next few years," The New York Times reports.   
• Aid Verification Will Return to Normal for 2022-23
  September 1, 2021 - "The Department of Education will not be targeting its federal aid verification process for the 2022-23 award year, ending a temporary change put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic to alleviate challenges students face in accessing financial aid...
• Biden Administration Ends Waiver Limiting Audits of Students Applying for Financial Aid
  August 31, 2021 - "Weeks after relaxing its audit of college students relying on federal grants and loans to pay for this academic year, the Education Department said it will resume the process for the following term," The Washington Post reports.  &nb...
• Education Department Moves to Resume Audits of Financial Aid Applicants
  August 31, 2021 - "The Biden administration on Tuesday detailed its plan to restart audits of students who apply for federal financial aid for the next school year after it suspended significant parts of that process this year in response to the pandemic," POLITICO re...
• Inside the World of College Cannabis Courses
  August 27, 2021 - "SUNY Morrisville offers a cannabis studies minor in which students can focus on the plant science, horticulture and business of cannabis. Associate Professor Kelly Hennigan said as students returned to campus this week that she’s been “i...
• $5.8 Billion in Relief for Disabled Borrowers
  August 20, 2021 - "Student loan borrowers with a total and permanent disability will now have their loans automatically discharged under a new regulation announced Thursday by the Department of Education, continuing the Biden administration’s focus on targeted s...
• Could Full or Partial Student Loan Forgiveness be Coming Any Time Soon? It's Hard to Say
  August 18, 2021 - "Americans have a bit longer to take advantage of the pause on federal student loan payments thanks to a final extension from the U.S. Department of Education. But the extra time to pay back loans has prompted some to ask: Where do lawmakers stand on...
• Department Issues Notice in Favor of State Oversight of Servicers
  August 10, 2021 - "Individual states are able to regulate federal student loan servicers in most circumstances without being preempted by the Higher Education Act of 1965, according to a notice of interpretation issued Monday by the Department of Education," Inside Hi...
• How Much of a Relief?
  August 10, 2021 - "Colleges and universities are increasingly using federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay off unpaid balances owed to them by students. After a year of financial strain and rampant job loss due to the pandemic, the payoffs are a welcome relief for many ...
• Loan Repayment Pause Continues
  August 9, 2021 - "The temporary pause on student loan repayment has been extended to January 31, 2022 for the final time, the Department of Education announced Friday. Repayments were originally scheduled to resume October 1, 2021," Inside Higher Ed reports.
• College Tuition Insurance Gains Attention in Pandemic
  August 6, 2021 - "With the new college year about to begin amid a resurgent pandemic, college tuition insurance is getting new attention. Tuition insurance is just what it sounds like: Students or their families buy a policy that will reimburse them for all or p...
• Can 2 Jobs Be Merged Into 1?
  August 2, 2021 - "The announcement was a surprise to staff members in the admissions and financial aid offices of the Kennedy School at Harvard University. Most of their jobs were being eliminated, but not to save money," Inside Higher Ed reports.
• Race on Campus: Rooting Out Bias in Financial Aid
  July 27, 2021 - "In his first year as a financial-aid counselor, Michael Birchett was skeptical when a student cited a flat tire as a reason he’d been forced to drop classes and had lost eligibility for aid. 'Coming from a middle-class background, I almost lau...
• Clearing Ledgers, Setting New Paths
  July 22, 2021 - "When Annissa Young, a junior at Trinity Washington University, saw an email from the institution on her phone with the subject line 'Financial planning with a fresh start,' she didn’t think much of it. She thought maybe the private institution...
• Students Favor Free College, Oppose Admissions Preferences
  July 20, 2021 - "Politicians often purport to represent the interests of students when they propose education policies. So do college leaders and associations when they take stands in response. But do they truly know what students want and need?," Inside Higher Ed r...
• NASFAA Creates Toolkit to Reduce Implicit Bias in Financial Aid Policies
  July 20, 2021 - "When Michael Birchett first started reading Satisfactory Academic Progress appeals as a financial aid administrator, he came across one student who was unable to attend class for an extended period due to a flat tire," Diverse: Issues in Higher Educ...
• 5 Ways Colleges Can Ensure More Effective Emergency Aid Outcomes
  July 15, 2021 - "Administrators at postsecondary institutions experienced little trouble drawing down Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) during the past year but were entangled by reams of red tape and complex guidance, according to a new study released...
• Federal Aid Verification Will be More Targeted for 2021-22 Award Year
  July 14, 2021 - "The Department of Education is temporarily changing its federal student aid verification process to focus only on identity theft and fraud for the 2021-22 application cycle. The change is intended to help alleviate challenges students face in access...
• Two Dozen Organizations Launch #DoublePell Campaign
  July 13, 2021 - "A coalition of 24 higher education associations, organizations and advocacy groups launched a national campaign today in support of doubling the maximum Pell Grant by the program's 50th anniversary, which will be next June," Inside Higher Ed reports...
• U.S. Education Department Will Relax Aid-Verification Rules in 2021-22
  July 13, 2021 - "A major burden for students and colleges alike has been lifted, at least for one year. The U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday that it will waive verification requirements for most of the information that federal-aid applicants must pr...
• Feds Aim to Boost Access by Removing Financial Aid Barriers
  July 13, 2021 - "The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday installed temporary changes to the federal aid verification process for the 2021-22 award year that could help millions of low-to-moderate-income students seeking to enroll or remain at institutions of hig...
• Education Department Eases Federal Student Aid Verification, for Now
  July 13, 2021 - "The Education Department enacted a significant but temporary change to how it reviews federal student aid applications on Tuesday, marking a shift that could ease burdens advocates say fall hardest on low-income and minority students," Politico repo...
• A New Higher Ed Coalition Forms to Push for Doubling of Pell Grants
  July 13, 2021 - "A new coalition of higher education organizations has formed to press the case for doubling the Pell Grant, the federal program that provides financial aid to low- and moderate-income students to attend college. The Double Pell Alliance is laun...
• Chipping Away at the Borrower-Defense Backlog
  July 12, 2021 - "The Department of Education is continuing to address its backlog of claims from borrowers who contend they shouldn't have to repay their student loans, announcing Friday that it has delivered another $55.6 million in relief to students of three clos...
• The Plan to Resume Federal Student-Loan Repayments in October Just Hit an Obstacle
  July 8, 2021 - "One of the handful of organizations that has a contract to service federal student loans announced today that it would not renew that agreement at the end of the year," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.   
• NCAA Athlete Pay Confounds Financial Aid Forms and Pell Grant Awards
  July 6, 2021 - "Starting at midnight on July 1, when name, image and likeness rights officially went into effect, college athletes across the country began announcing a flurry of deals—ranging from social media endorsements to paid autograph-signing sessions....
• You Got a College Scholarship. Now Make Sure It Doesn’t Reduce Your Financial Aid.
  July 1, 2021 - "For many college students, receipt of a private scholarship is reason to rejoice. But the rejoicing may be unexpectedly short-lived," The Wall Street Journal reports.
• The New Rules on Paying for College
  July 1, 2021 - "Paying for college is a challenge in the best of economic times. So when the worst of times come, as they did for millions of Americans during the pandemic, affording a degree gets dramatically harder," Consumer Reports reports.
• Student Loan Payments to Restart; Here's How to Get Help
  June 24, 2021 - "For 42.9 million student loan borrowers , it’s been 18 months without a payment. That ends in October — ready or not. The interest-free federal student loan payment pause, known as a forbearance, was extended three times after it initial...
• A Tuition Gamble That Is Paying Off
  June 24, 2021 - "St. John’s College leaders took a counterintuitive but calculated risk three years ago when they decided to slash the cost of tuition and turn to donors to help replace the lost revenue. Some observers considered the move reckless; others dism...
• Questioning Colleges’ Role in Bad Loans for Boot Camps
  June 17, 2021 - "A report released last week by the Student Borrower Protection Center shed light on public colleges and universities that have been promoting high-risk loans for short-term programs, but in several respects, the report prompted just as many que...
• Dems Reintroduce Pell Grant Bill, Get Support of Education Leaders
  June 17, 2021 - "A day after a team of leaders from the Democrat Party reintroduced a bill called the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2021, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) also called for a similar push to ...
• U.S. Education Department Announces Loan Forgiveness for 18,000 Cases Related to ITT
  June 17, 2021 - "Students whose financial and academic trajectories may have been jeopardized by the abrupt 2016 closing of controversial for-profit ITT Technical Institute will be getting some relief from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Education (ED...
• Quantifying COVID Impacts
  June 17, 2021 - "About 40 percent of undergraduates experienced a financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 8.2 percent either withdrew (4.4 percent) or took a leave of absence (3.8 percent) from their institution, according to ...
• Major FAFSA Overhaul Will Be Delayed by a Year, Education Department Says
  June 11, 2021 - "The Biden administration has notified Congress that it needs more time to implement a bipartisan law overhauling how students apply for federal financial aid, citing challenges with decades-old technology at the Education Department," Politico repor...
• Can Student Loan Forgiveness Still Happen?
  June 11, 2021 - "Each passing day brings 43 million federal student loan borrowers closer to resuming the payments that have been paused since March 2020 — and further from the chance that life-changing loan forgiveness is coming anytime soon. Borrowers had re...
• Mobile Credentials for a Contactless Campus Experience
  June 8, 2021 - "Credential technology has come a long way since the first electronic card access system was developed in 1968. For decades, universities have used some form of campus card. Yet many campuses have made few changes to the legacy technology they a...
• Pandemic Fuels Increase in Financial Aid Appeals
  June 3, 2021 - "Institutions are reporting an increase in the number of financial aid appeal requests they've received since last March, pointing to the financial impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have on students' ability to pay for college, accor...
• Bill Would Waive Taxes on Student Loan Forgiveness
  June 2, 2021 - "If you have student loan debt, you’re probably aware of how loan forgiveness affects your taxes. Right now, forgiven loans are considered as income on tax day. But a new bill in the Michigan House of Representatives is looking to change that,"...
• Financial Aid Appeals Remain High Due to Pandemic, NAFSAA Survey Shows
  June 2, 2021 - "Despite the promise of widespread vaccination and the further reopening of businesses across the U.S., students and families largely are not in better financial positions than they were last fall," University Business reports. 
• How to Go to College For Free
  June 2, 2021 - "In a country where it’s common to have tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, getting a college education for free is a radical idea. Unless a full scholarship is on the table, most people may not consider it an option to go t...
• ‘Financial Aid Rock Star’ Alex DeLonis Advocates for Students
  May 24, 2021 - "Like so many other kids, Alex DeLonis didn’t think college was a possibility," Wabash College reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: Education Dept. Will Use Lengthy Process to Restore Student-Debt Accountability
  May 20, 2021 - "The gainful-employment regulation, which seeks to hold colleges accountable for their students’ earnings compared with their students’ loan debt, will go through the federal rule-making process, again, more than a decade after it was fir...
• NASFAA Mention: Delaware College Using COVID-19 Relief Funds to Forgive Over $700K in Student Debt
  May 15, 2021 - "Delaware State University announced it will cancel up to $730,655 in student loan debt for recent graduates who have struggled financially during the COVID-19 pandemic," Fox 5 reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: US: Int’l Students Eligible for Covid-19 Support Under Gov’t Relief Fund
  May 13, 2021 - "The US Department of Education has announced more than $36 billion in emergency grants for postsecondary education under the American Rescue Plan Act’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF III). For the first time, international...
• NASFAA Mention: Cardona Opens Emergency Grants to Undocumented and International College Students
  May 11, 2021 - "Undocumented and international college students will now be eligible to receive pandemic relief grants after Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Tuesday lifted a controversial ban imposed by his predecessor, Betsy DeVos," The Wa...
• NASFAA Mention: Nontraditional Students: How to Manage Student Loans
  May 10, 2021 - "Many resources geared toward college students focus on traditional students, who enroll after high school and live on campus. But they’re not the only attendees. For a large percentage of students enrolled at universities across the country, t...
• NASFAA Mention: Innovations in College Aid: The FAFSA Maze Now Includes Drive-Thru
  May 6, 2021 - "A drive-thru is simple: Pull up in a car, roll down the window, and leave with what you need. Filing for college financial aid is anything but simple," The Christian Science Monitor reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: Cordray Named COO of Federal Student Aid
  May 4, 2021 - "The Education Department announced Monday that Richard Cordray will serve as the next chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid," Inside Higher Ed reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: Richard Cordray to Head Federal Student Aid Office
  May 3, 2021 - "Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Monday named Richard Cordray, the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to head the federal aid office that oversees the government’s $1.5 trillion student loan portfolio," The Wa...
• NASFAA Mention: Biden’s Plan Would Make Community College Free. It Could Also Have Unintended Downsides.
  April 30, 2021 - "President Biden’s plan to make two years of community college free, which could make college more affordable and accessible to millions of Americans, is being praised as a long-overdue step forward. But depending on how it’s structured, ...
• NASFAA Mention: Research Shows FAFSA Completion Rate Declining; Michigan Down 12.2%
  April 29, 2021 - "This Saturday, May 1, is the deadline for prospective college enrollees in Michigan to fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. That’s a requirement for all sorts of scholarships, grants, work study and federal loans....
• NASFAA Mention: California Looks for Aid from Biden's Plans for Tuition-Free Community College and Higher Pell Grants
  April 29, 2021 - "As one of the leaders in offering free community college tuition to qualified low-income students, California is looking to get more federal assistance from President Biden’s proposals to make community college free and increase the federal Pe...
• NASFAA Mention: Simplified FAFSA Financial Aid Form Could Help More Fort Worth Kids Go to College.
  April 29, 2021 - "Yuliana Perea spent hours last fall sifting through her parents’ tax paperwork as she struggled to understand the technical language in her federal financial aid application," the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: How Biden’s $1.8T American Families Plan Could Help Higher Ed
  April 28, 2021 - "The Biden Administration officially rolled out its $1.8 trillion American Families Plan on Wednesday, unveiling 'transformational' initiatives designed to help both higher education institutions and students," University Business reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: Washington Pumped $35 Billion Into Emergency Grants for College Students. Here’s How It’s Going.
  April 25, 2021 - "It had been almost five months since Virginia Commonwealth University sophomore Brittany Ofori lost her part-time job at a substance abuse center when she received an unexpected offer of help," The Washington Post reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: You Still Have Time to Ask Colleges for More Financial Aid
  April 23, 2021 - "Many colleges have reinstated May 1 as the deadline for newly admitted applicants to declare that they will enroll and submit deposits. But with about a week to go, students still have time to appeal to a college for more financial aid, if they need...
• NASFAA Mention: ASM Passes New Legislation Regarding Student Aid, Student Role Clarifications
  April 15, 2021 - "The Associated Students of Madison advocated for better implementation of student aid efforts and clarified their bylaws regarding student government positions at their Tuesday night meeting," The Daily Cardinal reports.
• NASFAA Mention: Disproportionate Burden: Estimating the Cost of FAFSA Verification for Public Colleges and Universities
  April 13, 2021 - "The institutional compliance costs of the FAFSA verification mandate in 2014 totaled nearly $500 million, with the burden falling disproportionately on public institutions and community colleges in particular," PHYS.org reports.
• NASFAA Mention: New Financial Aid Hub Targets All Students
  April 12, 2021 - "Financial aid statistics indicate that 86 percent of college students benefit from some form of financial aid and that the percentage of students who accept financial aid grows by an average of 0.09 percent each year," eCampusNews reports.  &n...
• NASFAA Mention: Getting Married? It Could Increase Your Student Loan Payments
  April 8, 2021 - "Wedding invitations? Check. Marriage license? Check. See how tying the knot can affect your student loan payment… You probably didn’t see that one coming, did you? Student loans may be one of the last things on your mind when you’...
• NASFAA Mention: For Higher Ed, Stimulus Relief Offers Flexible Spending
  April 7, 2021 - "The American Rescue Plan includes almost $40 billion for community colleges, four-year schools and universities. It’s less than the sector says it needs, but there are options with how the funds can be used," GOVERNING reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: Did You Get Federal Relief Money From December? Depends Which College You Go To
  April 6, 2021 - "Despite being separated by just 24 miles and operating within the same college system, California State University, Los Angeles and Cal State Long Beach have one key difference for students right now: Students in Los Angeles started getting relief m...
• NASFAA Mention: Unused Student Loans? Here’s the Smart Thing to Do
  April 5, 2021 - "You’ve borrowed more than you need for college. What do you do? Many borrowers don’t realize they can return unused federal-loan dollars. Or why they would want to," The Wall Street Journal reports.
• NASFAA Mention: How to Get Financial Aid for College When Your Parents Make Too Much
  March 31, 2021 - "Are you wondering how to get financial aid if your parents make too much? If this question plagues you, you’re not alone," Student Loan Hero reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: Why Expected Family Contribution (Student Aid Index) Matters for College Aid
  March 30, 2021 - "To understand what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is, it helps to first understand what it isn’t," Student Loan Hero reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: FAFSA Reform Will Simplify Applications to Benefit Low-Income Families and Help Reduce Student Debt
  March 24, 2021 - "Loan applications are complex technical documents that require a massive amount of personal information. However, the process of students seeking federal dollars to fund their education can be particularly daunting. In recent years, digitization and...
• NASFAA Mention: Ideas for Getting Loan Borrowers Back Into Repayment
  March 17, 2021 - "Five groups have issued a set of recommendations on 'successfully transitioning federal student loan borrowers back into repayment,'" Inside Higher Ed reports.
• NASFAA Mention: COVID Tax Break Could Open Door to Student Loan Forgiveness
  March 16, 2021 - "The tax break on college debt cancellations in the COVID-19 relief package signed last week by President Joe Biden has removed a potential roadblock to forgiving student loan debt: taxes," NerdWallet reports.
• NASFAA Mention: This Time, the Stimulus Package Helps More College Students
  March 11, 2021 - "In the third round of COVID-19 relief, college students and their families could see more money in their pockets than before," NerdWallet reports. 
• NASFAA Mention: What Does the $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Bill Mean for Loan Forgiveness, Financial Aid and College Students?
  March 11, 2021 - Congress passed the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief legislation Wednesday, which provides about $40 billion for higher education including provisions for financial aid and student loan forgiveness. Here’s what college students and parents need to...