Donate today and get a Marketplace mug — perfect for all your liquid assets! Donate now

More states are requiring high schoolers to complete financial aid application

Feb 16, 2022
Applications for federal aid for college have decreased, so schools and states are looking at ways to get more grants into students' hands.
In states that require high school students to fill out the FAFSA, the number of students applying for financial aid has gone up.
Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images

Strapped community colleges to receive additional $198 million in aid from Biden administration

Jan 20, 2022
Enrollment plummeted during the pandemic, which drove many would-be students to choose work – if they could find it – over their studies.
The money from the Biden administration could help students with things like child care or emergency expenses.
Brian A. Jackson/Getty Images

Some small colleges are closing their doors for good amid pandemic

Aug 20, 2020
By one estimate, about 200 private liberal-arts institutions are on the verge of going under.
Students on a North Carolina college campus. Smaller institutions are having a tougher time financially.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Can a computer model reveal who is about to become homeless? LA County is finding out.

Jan 23, 2020
The goal is to reach out and help people before they lose their housing.
Tents line a sidewalk in the city of Los Angeles, where homelessness rose 16% last year.
Courtesy California Policy Lab

Beth Kobliner on how parents can maximize FAFSA's potential

Oct 4, 2018
Early conversations with kids about paying for college can save thousands in the long run.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Beth Kobliner on having the "talk" with your kids about the cost of college

Sep 27, 2018
Tips on less-terrifying ways to talk about the cost of college with kids.
About 60 percent of those who went to college had to take out student loans to pay for it. 
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Student loan changes ahead

Jan 25, 2018
Congress is going to change how much graduates need to pay back and how quickly. Pell Grants and loan forgiveness are part of the Republican overhaul, too. A Senate committee will hold a hearing today with new details of an ambitious plan to reboot the nation’s student financial aid system. Until now, proposals for how […]

For public good, not for profit.

Without IRS tool, families scramble to fill out financial aid forms

Mar 13, 2017
It’s FAFSA season, when families apply for federal aid to pay for college. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool makes it easier for applicants to add the required tax information to their forms by transferring it directly from the IRS. Or it did. The IRS has suspended the service for several weeks, and if history is […]

Most high school students aren't applying for financial aid, study says

Dec 1, 2016
The completion rates for student financial aid is “all over the map,” according to a new report.
 
Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Students who lose financial aid are more likely to drop out, study says

Nov 2, 2016
For top performing college students, between $1,000 to $1,500 can have an impact.
Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images