Paying for College

Education news, analysis, and opinion about how students and families finance college tuition, including through student loans, Pell Grants and other financial aid
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College & Workforce Readiness The New FAFSA Is a Major Headache. Some High Schools Are Trying to Help
High schools are scrambling to help students navigate what was supposed to be a simpler process.
Elizabeth Heubeck, March 11, 2024
4 min read
Social Security benefits identification card with 100 dollar bills
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College & Workforce Readiness Explainer Students With Undocumented Parents Have Hit a FAFSA Road Block. Here Are 3 Options
A FAFSA expert provides advice for a particularly vulnerable group of families.
Elizabeth Heubeck, March 5, 2024
4 min read
Applications for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form are on the rise.
Applications for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form are on the rise.
Jon Elswick/AP
College & Workforce Readiness Amid a Rocky FAFSA Rollout, Ed. Dept. Offers Colleges More Flexibility
The changes are meant to free up colleges and universities to process aid forms more quickly and easily.
Sarah Schwartz, February 13, 2024
4 min read
In this May 5, 2018 file photo, graduates at the University of Toledo commencement ceremony in Toledo, Ohio. On the bumpy road to repayment this fall, student loan borrowers have some qualms. Borrowers filed more than 101,000 student loan complaints with the Federal Student Aid office in 2022 – more than double from 2021 – and that number is poised to increase further as October payments approach.
High school seniors who are hoping to one day graduate from college are facing significant roadblocks in getting answers to how much federal student aid they can get from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which has been plagued by delays and technical glitches. Above, students at the University of Toledo in Ohio participate in graduation ceremonies on May 5, 2018.
Carlos Osorio/AP
College & Workforce Readiness In Wake of Hiccups and Tight Deadlines, Feds Beef Up Supports for Fledgling FAFSA
The newly designed Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, branded the "Better FAFSA," is prompting lots of frustration.
Elizabeth Heubeck, February 5, 2024
3 min read
Illustration of female student, carrying books and papers, jumping over hurdles to get to the money on a hook.
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College & Workforce Readiness Navigating Financial Assistance Can Be Tough. Not All Schools Offer Help
Outside resources are helping to fill in the gaps.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 5, 2024
5 min read
Conceptual image of blue maze and a red the dollar sign.
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College & Workforce Readiness The New FAFSA Is Finally Here. Sort of
Students filling out the newly designed FAFSA are encountering glitches and delays.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 3, 2024
3 min read
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College & Workforce Readiness Opinion To Help Students, One Company Has Unlocked $100 Million a Year in College Aid
A peer-based mentoring organization encourages high school seniors to apply to college and helps them receive financial aid.
Rick Hess, November 2, 2023
7 min read
Applications for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form are on the rise.
Applications for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form are on the rise.
Jon Elswick/AP
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A The FAFSA Process Is Changing. Here's What You Need to Know
A college financial aid expert explains the newly designed FAFSA form, and why it's late this year.
Elizabeth Heubeck, October 20, 2023
6 min read
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Merrimack alumna Isabel Fernandes was at a crossroads between pursuing a graduate degree and or continuing through K-12 studies.
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President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on June 30, 2023, in Washington. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona listens at left. The Biden administration is moving forward on a new student debt relief plan after the Supreme Court struck down his original initiative to provide relief to 43 million borrowers.
President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on June 30, 2023, in Washington. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona listens at left. The Biden administration is moving forward on a new student debt relief plan after the Supreme Court struck down his original initiative to provide relief to 43 million borrowers.
Evan Vucci/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Rejects Student Loan Relief Plan
In a case watched by teachers, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration’s plan to relieve $400 billion in student debt.
Mark Walsh, June 30, 2023
6 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Video How This Juneteenth Tradition Funds Scholarships for College-Bound Students
For nearly 50 years, an annual Juneteenth cake auction has celebrated emancipation and supported students' college dreams.
Lauren Santucci, June 22, 2023
3:26
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Growing From Pioneers to Warriors
For decades, Merrimack College has enjoyed a deep and fruitful partnership with Lawrence, Massachusetts, a city of more than 89,000 about five miles north of the College
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Student debt relief advocates gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Feb. 28, 2023, as the court heard arguments over President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan.
Student debt relief advocates gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Feb. 28, 2023, as the court heard arguments over President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Will Decide Fate of Student Loan Relief: What Teachers Need to Know
The AFT and NEA remind the justices in briefs that teachers carry significant student debt and the pandemic made things worse.
Mark Walsh, February 28, 2023
6 min read
Young man writing college or university application form with laptop with scholarship document on desk next to him.
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College & Workforce Readiness Many Students Don't Fill Out the FAFSA. Here's One Practice That Could Help
New data suggests that meeting with a school counselor could make a difference.
Sarah Schwartz, February 2, 2023
4 min read