If you’re applying to college Early Action/Early Decision, you won’t be able to submit the FAFSA at the same time you submit your application for admission, as the 2024-25 FAFSA won’t be available until December 2023. You’ll want to make sure you check the financial aid webpage of every college where you are applying early to find out about any other required financial aid applications they might require, such as the CSS Profile or an institutional financial aid application. For more information on the new FAFSA, read our blog post, What You Need to Know about the New FAFSA

If you plan to submit the FAFSA to apply for college financial aid, you’ll need to create an FSA ID first, which allows you to begin the FAFSA process. And you need to create your FSA ID at least a few days before you start the FAFSA, so now’s a great time to check that step off your list. This webinar will walk you through the process of creating an FSA ID, explain who needs to create one, and discuss other things to know before completing the FAFSA.

Este seminario web, presentado en español, ofrecerá información y claridad sobre todo el proceso de solicitud de ayuda económica para la universidad. Usted aprenderá sobre las solicitudes y los tipos de asistencia financiera, los factores que determinan la elegibilidad, las maneras en que las universidades determinan cuánta ayuda ofrecen y los detalles de las ofertas.

Are you interested in appealing your financial aid offer? MEFA's Associate Director of College Planning Jonathan Hughes provides five tips to help families as they navigate the appeals process and try to secure more financial aid than was originally offered.

Learn the steps to appeal a financial aid offer from a panel of college financial aid administrators. Panelists cover how to write an appeal letter, what situations might warrant receiving additional funds, and the timeline for the process.

In partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has created near real-time school and student-level FAFSA completion reports within Edwin Analytics. These live reports allow schools and districts to monitor whether seniors have completed and submitted their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which they must submit in order to apply for federal and state financial student aid for college. The Department encourages all school counselors to have access to Edwin. Join in this webinar with presenter Nyal Fuentes, College and Career Readiness Coordinator at DESE, to learn about this important tool and how it can help your school and your students.